Etymology — The origins of English words

publish

Latin

From Old French publier, from Latin publicare, "to make public," from publicus, "public."

clap

Old English

From Old English clæppan, of imitative Germanic origin describing a sharp striking sound.

unknown

Old English

From Old English ungecnawen, from "un-" + "known."

wealthy

Middle English

From Middle English welthy, welþi, equivalent to wealth + -y. Cognate with Middle Dutch weldech, weeldech (“magnificent, luscious, lavish”).

detonate

Latin

From Latin detonare ("to thunder down"), from de- + tonare ("to thunder").

nuclear

Latin

From "nucleus" + "-ar," ultimately from Latin nucleus, "kernel" — the tiny dense core at the centre of an atom.

explosion

Latin

From French explosion, from Latin explodere, "to drive out by clapping" — the same root gives us "explode".

parmesan

Latin

From Middle French parmesan, ultimately from Latin Parma, the Italian city the cheese is named after.

feta

Italian

From Greek féta, itself borrowed from Italian fetta, meaning "slice" — a nod to how the cheese is cut into slabs.

cola

Origin

From a West African language (compare Temne and Mandinka kola). The drink Coca-Cola made the word famous worldwide and popularized spelling it with a "c" instead of a "k".

Bavaria

New Latin

From New Latin Bavaria, from Medieval Latin Baioaria, from Latin Boiuvarii (literally “Boii settlers”), a compound of a Gaulish word meaning “cattle owner” (from Proto-Celtic *bāus (“cow”)) + Proto-Germanic *warjaz (“settler”). Alternatively, Pokorny proposes that the first element is a word meaning “warrior”, derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyh₂- (“to hit, beat”). This name was adopted by the Marcomanni after defeating the Boii and settling Bohemia and parts of Bavaria.

Munich

French

Ultimately from German München, probably transmitted into English via French Munich.

Frankfurt

German

From German Frankfurt, literally the "ford (river crossing) of the Franks."

Hanover

German

From German Hannover, meaning roughly "on the high bank" or "high shore."

Hanoi

Origin

From Vietnamese Hà Nội, itself from Sino-Vietnamese characters meaning "within the rivers."

Hamburg

German

From German Hamburg, a compound linked to an old word for a bend or hollow of land plus "burg" (fortified town).

Oran

Arabic

As a city name, ultimately from Arabic وَهْرَان (wahrān), from a Berber word for "lion."

Durban

Latin

Named after Benjamin D'Urban, from French d'Urbain, ultimately from Latin Urbanus.

Johannesburg

Origin

Possibly named after Johannes Rissik or Johannes Meyer, officials involved in its founding.

Syracuse

Ancient Greek

From Latin Syracusae, from Ancient Greek Surakousai, a name of uncertain but possibly Phoenician origin.

Stuttgart

German

From German Stuttgart, ultimately from Old High German stuotgarten, meaning "stud farm" (from stuot, "stud," and garten, "garden").

Sicily

Middle English

From Middle English Sicilie, Sicilye, from Old English Sicilia, from Latin Sicilia, from Ancient Greek Σικελία (Sikelía), from Σίκελος (Síkelos, “Sicel”). Doublet of Sicilia.

Siberia

Russian · 1500

Adopted in the 16th century from Russian Sibir, originally the name of a Tatar fortress that gave its name to the surrounding khanate and, eventually, the whole region.

shanghai

Chinese · 1871

From the Chinese port city of Shanghai; the verb arose around 1871 from the practice of press-ganging men onto ships bound for long Pacific voyages.