Etymology — The origins of English words

oakum

Origin

From Late Middle English okom, okome (“oakum”) [and other forms], from Old English ācumba (“oakum”, literally “that which has been combed out, off-combings”) [and other forms], from ācemban (“to comb out”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (from Proto-Indo-European *ud-s-, *ūd- (“out; up”), or *h₂ew- (“away from, off”)) + *kambijaną (“to comb”) (ultimately from *ǵómbʰos (“row of teeth; tooth; peg”), *ǵembʰ- (“nail; tooth; to gnaw through; to pierce”)). See also out and comb.

omnispective

Origin

From omni- + Latin spectus, past participle of specere, spicere (“to view”).

osseous

Origin

Borrowed from Latin osseus (“bony, (attributive) bone”), from os (“bone”) + -eus.

nustle

Origin

Compare nuzzle and nursle.

oryx

Origin

From Latin ory̆x, from Ancient Greek ὄρῠξ (órŭx, “a pickax; an oryx (the antelope)”).

nubble

Origin

Compare Low German nubben (“to knock, cuff”).

nonmurderer

Origin

From non- + murderer.

nudiustertian

Origin

From Latin nū̆diū̆stertiānus (“taking place the day before yesterday”), from nudius tertius. Coined by Nathaniel Ward (1578–1652) in The Simple Cobler of Aggawam in America (1647).

nutbar

Origin

From nut + bar.

obtrude

Origin

From Latin obtrūdō (“thrust off or against”), from ob- (“ob-”) + trūdō (“thrust”).

nihilism

Origin

Probably borrowed from French nihilisme, German Nihilismus, or Late Latin nihilismus; the French, German, and Latin words are derived from Latin nihil (“indefinite nothing”), from nihilum (“nothing”), from ne- (prefix negating the principal meaning) + hīlum (“a trifle; not in the least”). The English word is cognate with Italian nichilismo, Spanish nihilismo, Russian нигили́зм (nigilízm), philosophical doctrine grounded on negation of one or more meaningful aspects of life; emptiness; lack of education and cultural refinement.

noncomputing

Origin

From non- + computing.

nickalls

Origin

One of the variant spellings of Nichols, from Nichol, a Middle English vernacular form of the given name Nicholas + the suffix -s.

nonclinical

Origin

From non- + clinical.

nonnumerical

Origin

From non- + numerical.

northside

Origin

From north + side.

otherworldism

Origin

From otherworld + -ism.

nurseryman

Origin

From nursery + man.

nonmurder

Origin

From non- + murder.

oligoduplex

Origin

From oligo- + duplex.

overslaugh

Origin

From Dutch overslag, from Dutch overslaan.

nonchurchly

Origin

From non- + churchly.

ostentation

Origin

Originated 1425–75 from late Middle English ostentacioun, borrowed from Middle French ostentation and its etymon Latin ostentātiō, ostentātiōnem, equivalent to ostentātus (past participle of ostentāre, to display or exhibit), frequentative of ostendere (“to present, display”) + -iōn. By surface analysis, ostent + -ation.

novocastrian

Origin

From Latin novus (“new”) + castra (“castle, fort”).