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Etymology — The origins of English words

Where do words come from? Trace the origin and history of any English word, from its Latin, Greek or Old English roots through to its modern meaning. Every etymology is sourced.

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mirrorless
Origin
From mirror + -less.
mysore
Origin
An anglicised version of Kannada ಮಹಿಶೂರು (mahiśūru, literally “abode of Mahisha”). Though in Sanskrit Mahisha means "buffalo", here it refers to Mahishasura, a mythological demon who could assume the form of both a human and a buffalo. According to Hindu mythology, the area was ruled by the demon Mahishasura. The demon was killed by the Goddess Chamundeshwari, whose temple is situated atop the Chamundi Hills. Mahishūru later became Mahisūru (a name which, even now, the royal family uses) and finally came to be called Maisūru, its present name in the Kannada language.
mussiness
Origin
From mussy + -ness.
mentionable
Origin
From mention + -able.
nebulosity
Origin
From Latin nebulōsitās.
meteorology
Origin
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek μετεωρολογία (meteōrología), from μετέωρα (metéōra, “celestial phenomena”), nominalized from the neuter plural of μετέωρος (metéōros, “high in the sky”), + -λογία (-logía, “study of”). By surface analysis, meteor (“atmospheric phenomenon”) + -ology (“study of”). First attested in 1563.
metanoia
Origin
From Ancient Greek μετάνοια (metánoia, “repentance”, literally “afterthought”), a compound of μετά (metá, “after, with”) and νοέω (noéō, “to perceive, to think”).
neptunist
Origin
From Neptune + -ist.
mcculloh
Origin
Variant of McCullough.
mishallowed
Origin
From mis- + hallowed.
minification
Origin
From mini- + -ification.
monkeydonia
Origin
Blend of monkey + Macedonia. Possibly a calque of Bulgarian Маймунодония (Majmunodonija). Used primarily by Greek, Albanian, and Bulgarian nationalists to suggest that North Macedonia's statehood and ethnogenesis is illegitimate, and that the name Macedonia was usurped, referring to North Macedonia's naming dispute with Greece.
mirin
Origin
Borrowed from Japanese 味醂 (mirin).
nephritic
Origin
From Middle English neufretic, from Medieval Latin nefreticus; compare Classical Latin nephrīticus; equivalent to nephritis + -ic = nephr- (“kidney”) + itis (“inflammation”) + -ic (“related”).
mcquire
Origin
Variant of McGuire.
monic
Origin
From mono- + -ic.
misdemeanorize
Origin
From misdemeanor + -ize.
nekton
Origin
From German Nekton which was coined in 1890 by Ernst Haeckel. By surface analysis, Ancient Greek νηκτός (nēktós, “swimming”) + -on.
montserrat
Origin
From Catalan Montserrat. The island was named after the Virgin of Montserrat.
mulloy
Origin
Variant of Molloy.
monotheism
Origin
A learned 17th-century coinage, mono- + theism, from (μονός (monós, “one”)) and (θεός (theós, “god, deity”) + -ισμός (-ismós)) The term parallels the earlier polytheism, atheism (the simplex theism being slightly later). The term was coined by Henry More, ca. 1660, in explicit juxtaposition with both atheism and polytheism. It was redefined through etymological fallacy by Daniel Webster ca. 1828.
melodeon
Origin
From French mélodium, with change of ending.
moctezuma
Origin
From Classical Nahuatl Motēuczōma (“he who frowns like a lord”), from mo- (reflexive prefix) + tēuc- (“lord”) + -zōma (“to frown in anger”).
nertz
Origin
Perhaps from nerts (“nuts, crazy”)