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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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crestfallenness
Origin
From crestfallen + -ness.
descrambler
Origin
From descramble + -er.
decal
Origin
Clipping of decalcomania.
deassert
Origin
From de- + assert.
deliriate
Origin
From delirium + -ate. Compare delirate and delire.
debation
Origin
From debate + -ion. The formation is nonstandard because this word does not contain the suffix -ate.
decondition
Origin
From de- + condition.
curvet
Origin
From Italian corvetta, diminutive of corva, an early form of curva (“curve”), from Latin curva, feminine of curvus (“bent, curved”).
cucullated
Origin
From Latin cucullatus, from cucullus (“hood”).
creditworthy
Origin
From credit + -worthy.
danika
Origin
A spelling variant of Danica, a female given name of Slavic origin.
creamery
Origin
From French crémerie, reformed as cream + -ery.
delirating
Origin
From delirate + -ing.
dibber
Origin
From dib + -er.
cymric
Origin
From Welsh Cymru (“Wales”) + -ic (adjective-forming suffix). By surface analysis, Cymru + -ic. Piecewise doublet of Cumbric and cognate with English Cambrian and Cymry.
determinism
Origin
Borrowed from French déterminisme, equivalent to determine + -ism.
demarcate
Origin
Back-formation from demarcation.
debacular
Origin
From debacle.
crimper
Origin
From crimp + -er (agent noun suffix) or, for the climbing hold, + -er (patient suffix).
delenda
Origin
From Latin dēlenda.
deckhand
Origin
From deck + hand.
deduplicate
Origin
From de- + duplicate.
demiwoman
Origin
demi- + woman
despiteful
Origin
From despite + -ful.