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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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guelph
Origin
From Italian guelfo, from Middle High German Welf, a Bavarian dynasty. Welf II, Duke of Bavaria, inherited from his Italian wife, the Countess Matilda of Tuscany, possessions including Tuscany, Ferrara, Modena, Mantua and Reggio, which played a role in the Investiture Controversy. The Welf dynasty sided with the Pope in this controversy, so partisans of the Pope became known in Italy as Guelfi.
gunslinging
Origin
From gun + slinging.
hmong
Origin
From White Hmong Hmoob.
imperation
Origin
Borrowed from Latin imperationem (accusative of imperatio).
gog
Origin
Likely from agog; it appeared first as on gog. Attested from the 16th to 18th centuries. Compare French gogue (“sprightliness”), and Welsh gogi (“to agitate, shake”).
illative
Origin
From Late Latin illātīvus (“illative”), from Latin illātus, perfect passive participle of inferō (“carry or bring into somewhere; bury; conclude”), from in + ferō (“bear, carry; suffer”).
haligonian
Origin
Likely from a false folk etymology deriving Halifax from Old English hāliġ feax ("holy hair"), although it probably actually came from halh + ġefeaxe ("grassy corner"). To this root halig- was added the -onian suffix, probably with analogy to other British demonyms following a similar pattern such as Oxonian, Cantabrigian, Mancunian, Glaswegian, etc. The original demonym was Halifaxian from the Nova Scotian city's founding in 1749 until the early 19th century (around the third generation of residents), when Haligonian became preferred. The reason for the change may be in part due to a negative association with the original demonym.
handwrit
Origin
From Middle English hande-writt, from Old English handġewrit (“handwriting, autograph, written agreement”), equivalent to hand + writ.
homeskillet
Origin
From home + skillet, compare homeboy.
greektown
Origin
From Greek + town.
huynh
Origin
Borrowed from Vietnamese Huỳnh, from 黃 (“yellow”). Doublet of Huang and Wong.
hecatomb
Origin
The noun is a learned borrowing from Latin hecatombē (“great sacrifice of a hundred oxen, hecatomb”), from Ancient Greek ἑκατόμβη (hekatómbē, “great sacrifice of a hundred oxen, hecatomb; any animal sacrifice or large sacrifice”, from ἑκᾰτόν (hekătón, “hundred”) + βοῦς (boûs, “cattle, cow, ox”)). The verb is derived from the noun.
hypertapping
Origin
From hyper- + tapping.
hispanophone
Origin
From hispano- + -phone.
hauler
Origin
From Middle English halere, equivalent to haul + -er. Doublet of haulier.
helluv
Origin
From "hell of (a)", like hella (originally Northern California slang). See also Wikipedia:Hella (word).
idiotish
Origin
From idiot + -ish. Compare Dutch idioots (“idiotic”), German idiotisch (“idiotic”), Danish idiotisk (“idiotic”), Swedish idiotisk (“idiotic, stupid, insane”).
horologe
Origin
From Middle English orloge, from Norman oriloge, from Old French orloge, from Latin hōrologium (“sundial”), from Ancient Greek ὡρολόγιον (hōrológion). Cognate with French horloge, Italian orologio, and Spanish reloj. Doublet of Horologium and horologium.
hieratic
Origin
From Latin hieraticus, from Ancient Greek ἱερατικός (hieratikós), from ἱερατεία (hierateía, “priesthood”), from ἱερατεύω (hierateúō, “be a priest”), from ἱερεύς (hiereús, “priest”), from ἱερός (hierós, “sacred”). Use pertaining to the Egyptian writing system originates with the Greek phrase γράμματα ἱερατικά (grámmata hieratiká, literally “priestly writing”), which was first used by Saint Clement of Alexandria in the 2nd century AD, as at that time hieratic was used only for religious texts, as had been the case for the previous thousand years.
headwaiter
Origin
From head + waiter.
humpy
Origin
From hump + -y.
hewett
Origin
From a Middle English diminutive of Hugh.
harlotry
Origin
From harlot + -ry.
golok
Origin
From Malay golok.