Etymology — The origins of English words

hardtack

Origin

From hard + tack.

guttersnipe

Origin

From gutter + snipe.

hearsomeness

Origin

From Middle English hersumnesse, from Old English hīersumnes (“obedience”), equivalent to hearsome + -ness. Cognate with West Frisian hearsumens (“obedience”).

hessian

Origin

From Hesse + -ian. Doublet of hessian.

idevice

Origin

From i- + device.

hebdomad

Origin

From Late Latin hebdomada (“number seven; group of seven; seven days”), hebdomas (“number seven; seven days; seventh day”), from Ancient Greek ἑβδομάς (hebdomás, “group of seven, especially seven days or seven years”), from ἕβδομος (hébdomos, “seventh”) + -ᾰ́ς (-ắs, suffix forming abstract nouns of number from numerals). The word is cognate with French hebdomadaire, hebdo (“weekly periodical”), hebdomadairement (“weekly”), Portuguese hebdomadário (“weekly periodical”), Spanish hebdomadario (“weekly; weekly periodical; hebdomadary”).

hyponym

Origin

From hyp- + -onym or hypo- + -nym; from Ancient Greek ὑπό (hupó, “under”) + ὄνυμα (ónuma) ("appellation"), a Doric specific dialectal form of ὄνομα (ónoma, “name”).

hastiness

Origin

From Middle English hastynes; equivalent to hasty + -ness.

hypertensive

Origin

From hyper- + tensive or hypertension + -ive.

headstall

Origin

From head + stall.

grandiloquence

Origin

From Middle French grandiloquence, from Latin grandiloquentia, from grandiloquus, 1580s.

gowk

Origin

From Middle English goke, gowke, from Old Norse gaukr (“cuckoo”), from Proto-Germanic *gaukaz (“cuckoo”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰegʰuǵʰ- (“cuckoo”).

hexathlon

Origin

From hex- + -athlon.

headwear

Origin

From head + -wear. Piecewise doublet of chefwear.

hogget

Origin

From Middle English hogget, from Anglo-Norman hoget and an Anglo-Latin hogettus.

haunch

Origin

From Middle English haunche, hanche, from Old French hanche, hance, anche (compare French hanche, Italian anca), from a Germanic source, probably Frankish *ankijā, from Proto-Germanic *ankijǭ (“joint; ankle”), from Proto-Indo-European *ang- (“joint; lith”). Cognate with Old High German ancha, encha, einka (“the leg; joint, bend”) (compare Old High German anchila, enchila (“ankle”), German Hanke (“haunch”), West Frisian hancke (“haunch”). More at ankle.

gustavus

Origin

Borrowed from Latin Gustavus. From Swedish Gustav.

hurriedness

Origin

From hurried + -ness.

humpable

Origin

From hump + -able.

grise

Origin

Properly the plural of gree (“a step”).

imperatrix

Origin

From Latin imperatrix (“empress”).

hautboy

Origin

From Middle French hautbois. Doublet of oboe and hautbois.

haleness

Origin

From hale + -ness.

imbrication

Origin

From French imbrication, from Latin imbricātus, from imbricō, from imbrex. By surface analysis, imbricate + -ion.