Etymology — The Origins of English Words

Learned borrowing from Late Latin effigiātus, past participle of effigiō (“to form”), from effigiēs. See effigy.

From expend + -er.

See eonism.

Compound of ever + glade.

From the past participle of Latin elucubrare (“compose by lamplight”).

Ancient Greek

From Middle English ern, erne, earn, from Old English earn (“eagle”), from Proto-West Germanic *arnu (“eagle”), from Proto-Germanic *arnuz (“eagle”), from Proto-Germanic *arô (“eagle”) (whence also Arnold), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃érō (“large bird, eagle”). Cognate with North Frisian Aarn, iarn, jarn (“eagle”), West Frisian earn (“eagle”), Dutch arend (“eagle”), German Aar (“eagle”), Low German Arend (“eagle”), Danish, Faroese, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk ørn (“eagle”), Icelandic and Swedish örn (“eagle”), Ancient Greek ὄρνεον (órneon), ὄρνις (órnis, “bird”) (whence ornitho-), translingual -ornis, Proto-Slavic *orьlъ (“eagle”).

From Middle English ewer, from Anglo-Norman or Old French ewer, eawer (modern French évier), from Latin aquārium, from aqua (“water”). Doublet of aquarium.

From Anglo-Norman fesance, from Old French faisance (“action, deed, enactment”), from faisant, present participle of faire.

From e- (prefix forming adjectives with the sense of lacking something) + squamulose; squamulose is derived from New Latin squāmulōsus (“squamulose”), from Latin squamula (“small scales”) (diminutive of squāma (“scale of a fish or reptile; item shaped like a scale, flake”)) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of, prone to’). The English word is analysable as e- + squamula + -ose.

From earth + -ish. Compare Dutch aards (“earthish”), German irdisch (“earthish”), Danish jordisk (“earthish”), Swedish jordisk (“earthish”), Icelandic jarðeskur, jarðneskur (“earthish”).

From Ancient Greek ἐνθύμημα (enthúmēma, “thought, consideration”), from ἐν (en, “within, with”) + θυμός (thumós, “soul, life”).

From Middle English elten (“to mold, knead, work”), from Old Norse elta (“to chase, hunt, knead”), from Proto-Germanic *alatjaną (“to drive, force, move”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁elh₂- (“to drive, move, go”). Cognate with Danish ælte (“to knead”), Swedish älta (“to dwell upon, brood, stir, knead”), Norwegian elte (“to knead”), Norwegian elta (“to pursue, plod”), Icelandic elta (“to chase”).

From Late Latin ēmancipātor, from Latin ēmancipō (“to emancipate”). By surface analysis, emancipate + -or.

From Ancient Greek ἔμεσις (émesis), from ἐμέω (eméō, “vomit”). Compare ἔμετος (émetos, “vomit”, noun). By surface analysis, suffixed with -esis.

From Middle English eyt, eit, from Old English īġeoþ, īgoþ, iggaþ, iggoþ (“ait, eyot, islet, small island”), diminutive of īġ, ēġ, īeġ (“island”) (whence English ey (“island”)) which also constitutes the first element of island. See also ait and Norwegian Bokmål øy.

From ethos + -ed.

Old French, from Latin stēlla. Doublet of étoile, stella, and stelo; related to aster and star.

From French évacué, évacuée, from évacuer, equivalent to evacu(ate) + -ee.

First attested in 1593; borrowed from New Latin emulatīvus, by surface analysis, emulate + -ive.

From extravasate (“let out or force out (blood or fluid)”) + -ion; further etymology at extravasate. Attested from the 17th century.

From fat + berg, modelled on iceberg. By surface analysis, fat + -berg.

From eat + -worthy.

From duration + -ive. Alternatively, borrowed from French duratif, from Old French duratif (“lasting continuously (for a certain time)”), via Anglo-Norman French, and existing in the form duratif from about the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries, when the spelling was altered to durative under the influence of the literary Neolatin movement. Analogous to dure (“to last, to continue”) + -ive.