Etymology — The origins of English words

From Anglo-Norman pursure, from Latin prōsequor ("to follow after"). A doublet of prosecute.

A respelling of "newb," itself a shortened form of "newbie."

Borrowed from Irish Teamhrach, genitive of Teamhair, from Old Irish Temair (literally “high place”). The female given name is derived from the name of the plantation in Gone with the Wind, named for the place in Ireland.

From Middle English bunche, bonche (“hump, swelling”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a variant of *bunge (compare dialectal bung (“heap, grape bunch”)), from Proto-Germanic *bunkō, *bunkô, *bungǭ (“heap, crowd”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰenǵʰ-, *bʰénǵʰus (“thick, dense, fat”). Cognates include Saterland Frisian Bunke (“bone”), West Frisian bonke (“bone, lump, bump”), Dutch bonk (“lump, bone”), Low German Bunk (“bone”), German Bunge (“tuber”), Danish bunke (“heap, pile”), Faroese bunki (“heap, pile”); Hittite [Term?] (/⁠panku⁠/, “total, entire”), Tocharian B pkante (“volume, fatness”), Lithuanian búožė (“knob”), Ancient Greek παχύς (pakhús, “thick”), Sanskrit बहु (bahú, “thick; much”)). Alternatively, perhaps from a variant or diminutive of bump (compare hump/hunch, lump/lunch, etc.); or from dialectal Old French bonge (“bundle”) (compare French bongeau, bonjeau, bonjot), from West Flemish bondje, diminutive of West Flemish bond (“bundle”).

From Old English helma, "tiller of a ship," related to a Germanic word for a handle.

From Old French benigne, from Latin benignus, combining bene ("well") and genus ("kind, sort") — literally "of good nature."

From Old English tæsan, originally meaning to pull apart or comb out fibres (like wool) — the modern sense of playful provocation developed centuries later, by extension from "picking at" someone.

From Greek asbestos, meaning "unquenchable" — the ancient Greeks named it for its remarkable resistance to fire, long before its health dangers were understood.

From Greek philosophos, literally "lover of wisdom," a term said to have been first used by Pythagoras to describe himself rather than claim to be wise.

From Old French revolucion, from Late Latin revolutio, "the act of revolving", from Latin revolvo, "to roll back".

From Old English wincian, "to close the eyes, blink, or make a sign," going back to a Proto-Germanic root shared with words meaning to bend or bow.

A compound of finger and tip.

From Middle English scalp, "crown of the head, skull," probably from a North Germanic source; the historical practice of removing an enemy's scalp as a trophy gave rise to the verb "to scalp."

From master plus piece, echoing older guild traditions where a "masterpiece" was the qualifying work a craftsman submitted to be certified a master.

A straightforward compound of "kill" + "joy," first recorded in the late 18th century.

From chrono- (from Greek khrónos, \"time\") + logical, ultimately building on Greek lógos (\"study, account\").

A compound of coast and line.

From Latin cancellare, "to cross out with lines", from cancelli, "a lattice" — the same root that gives us "cancel" as crossing something out with crisscross marks.

From Old English hærfest, meaning "autumn" or "harvest-time" — the word originally named the season itself before it came to mean the act of reaping.

From Late Middle English nebillen, "to peck away at something" — likely related to Low German words for eating in small bites.

From Greek sympatheia, "fellow feeling," from syn- ("together") + pathos ("feeling").

From Latin testimonium, "testimony, evidence", from testis, "a witness".

Borrowed from French nationalisme, built from "national" plus the suffix "-ism," which turns a concept into a movement or belief system.

From Old English sincan, from Proto-Germanic roots meaning "to fall or sink."