Etymology — The Origins of English Words

PIE word *ḱóm The adjective is a learned borrowing from Ancient Greek κᾰτᾰπελτῐκός (kătăpeltĭkós, “of or for a catapult”) + English -ic (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives from nouns). Κᾰτᾰπελτῐκός (Kătăpeltĭkós) is derived from κᾰτᾰπέλτης (kătăpéltēs) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives from nouns); while κᾰτᾰπέλτης (kătăpéltēs) is a literary form of κᾰτᾰπᾰ́λτης (kătăpắltēs, “catapult; torture instrument”), from κᾰτᾰ- (kătă-, prefix meaning ‘against’) + πάλλω (pállō, “to poise or sway a missile before it is thrown; to brandish a weapon; (passive) to swing or dash oneself”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to beat; to drive; to push”)) + -της (-tēs, suffix forming masculine agent nouns). The noun is derived from the adjective.

Borrowed from Chinese Pidgin English chow-chow (“food”). Compare Macanese chau-cháu.

From censor + -ian.

From chloric acid + -ate (“salt or ester”).

Borrowed from Middle French codicille, from Latin cōdicillus, diminutive of cōdex. See code.

From Medieval Latin castellātus (“fortified” “made into a castle”), from castellum (“little fortification, castle”) + -ātus (forming participial adjectives). By surface analysis, Latin castellum + -ate (adjective-forming suffix) or castle + -ate.

From carouse (“to engage in a noisy or drunken social gathering”, verb) + -al (suffix forming nouns denoting actions by verbs to which it is attached), possibly also influenced by an erroneous understanding of the meaning of carousel (“merry-go-round”).

From club + -er.

Uncertain. Perhaps from Yiddish חבֿר (khaver, “friend, comrade”), from Hebrew חבר (ḥāḇēr, “friend”), possibly via Dutch gabber; alternately, perhaps from the British dialectal term cob (“take a liking to”), or a conflation of both. The suggestion that it is a self-referential collective term for convicts and immigrants who departed for Australian shores from the Irish port of Cobh seems chronologically unlikely.

From cement + -ite.

From charm + work.

First attested in 1664. From Latin circuitōsus, from circuitus, from circumeō (“to go around”), from circum (“around”) + eō (“to go”). By surface analysis, circuit + -ous.

From French centriste, equivalent to centre + -ist.

From Middle English carnalitee, carnalyte, carnalite, from Latin carnālitās, equivalent to carnal + -ity. Compare Old French charnalité.

Uncertain; perhaps related to Latin cēlō (“to hide”).

From case + work.

Probably onomatopoeic or a variant of clump (“walk heavily and clumsily”), itself also onomatopoeic or perhaps from the notion of walking in clumps, from Dutch klomp (“clump, mass, wooden shoe”).

Modeled after /b/tard. From 4chan and "chan"-named imageboards. From chan + -tard.

From Middle English chyne, from Old French eschine, from Frankish *skinu, from Proto-Germanic *skinō. Doublet of shin.

From Ancient Greek χθών (khthṓn, “ground, soil”) + -ic.

Borrowed from Latin Camulodūnum.

From business + person.

From Middle English boteles, botles, from Old English bōtlēas; equivalent to boot (“profit; use; behoof”) + -less. Doublet of botleas.

From bugle + weed.