Etymology — The origins of English words

illecebrous

Origin

Borrowed from Late Latin and Latin illecebrōsus (“attractive, enticing”) + English -ous (suffix forming adjectives denoting possession or presence of a quality, commonly in abundance). Illecebrōsus is derived from illecebra (“enticement, lure”) + -ōsus (suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘full of’); illecebra from illiciō (“to entice, seduce”) (from in- (prefix meaning ‘in, within’) + laciō (“to ensnare, entice”)) + -bra (suffix forming nouns denoting an instrument).

heterobiography

Origin

From hetero- + biography.

illume

Origin

Clipping of illumine.

harebell

Origin

From Middle English harebelle, equivalent to hare + bell.

hern

Origin

From Middle English herne, hyrne, from Old English hyrne (“corner”), from Proto-Germanic *hurnijō, *hurnijǭ (“projecting point, corner, angle”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“horn”). Doublet of hirn. Further related to horn.

immemorable

Origin

From Latin immemorabilis (“not memorable”).

goety

Origin

From Latin goetia, from Ancient Greek γοητεία (goēteía, “witchcraft”), from γόης (góēs, “sorceror”).

groundlessness

Origin

From groundless + -ness.

graver

Origin

From Middle English gravere, graver, gravoure, from Old English græfere, grafere (“graver; engraver; sculptor”), equivalent to grave (“to engrave”) + -er. Cognate with Dutch graveur, German Graveur, Danish gravør, Swedish gravör, Icelandic grafari.

gravitate

Origin

Borrowed from New Latin gravitāt-, past participial stem of gravitō.

hindlook

Origin

From hind + look. Compare hindsight.

homochronous

Origin

From homo- + -chronous.

hollywoodland

Origin

From the original word on the Hollywood Sign (from 1923 until 1949). By surface analysis, holly + wood + land.

hypotrophy

Origin

From hypo- + -trophy.

herriman

Origin

From the given name Herman.

houser

Origin

From Middle English housere, equivalent to house + -er.

hebetude

Origin

From Late Latin hebetūdō.

hypoactive

Origin

From hypo- + active.

hibbitt

Origin

From a Middle English diminutive of the given names Isabel and Hilbert.

hartebeest

Origin

From early Afrikaans hartebeest (now hartebees), from Dutch hert (“deer, hart”) + Dutch beest (“beast”).

hellstrip

Origin

From hell + strip. Coined by American horticulturalist and author Lauren Springer Ogden in the 1990s. Compare devil strip.

hemovore

Origin

From hemo- + -vore.

halve

Origin

From Middle English halven, helven, from Old English hilfan, helfan, *hielfan (“to halve, divide in two”), from Proto-West Germanic *halbijan, from Proto-Germanic *halbijaną (“to halve”), from Proto-Germanic *halbaz (“half”). Cognate with Middle Dutch halven (“to halve”), Middle High German halben, helben (“to halve”). Compare also West Frisian helte (“to halve”), Dutch halveren (“to halve”), German Low German halberen (“to halve”), German halbieren (“to halve”), Danish halvere (“to halve”), Swedish halvera (“to halve”).

hypnopompic

Origin

From hypno- (“sleep”) + Ancient Greek πομπή (pompḗ, “a sending away”) + -ic.