Etymology — The Origins of English Words

From acerbic + -ness.

From actin- + -ide.

From Anglo-Norman vesterie, from Old French vestiaire (“room for vestments, dressing room”), from Latin vestiarium (“wardrobe”). Doublet of vestiary.

From Middle English ȝedden, ȝeddien, from Old English ġieddian (“to speak formally, discuss, speak with alliteration, recite, sing”), from ġiedd (“song, poem, saying, proverb, riddle, speech, story, tale, narrative, account, reckoning, reason”).

Apparently from Low German and Middle Low German jolle, or Dutch jol, possibly ultimately from a Proto-Germanic derivative of Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewlos (“tube”), see also Lithuanian aulas, Norwegian aul, Hittite [script needed] (auli-, “tube-shaped organ in the neck”), Albanian hollë, Latin alvus.

Blend of administrative + trivia. First use appears c. 1937 in International Journal of Ethics.

1590, from word + book. Compare West Frisian wurdboek (“dictionary”), German Low German Woordenbook, Wöörbook (“dictionary”), Dutch woordenboek (“dictionary”), German Wörterbuch (“dictionary”), Danish ordbog (“dictionary”), Swedish ordbok (“dictionary”).

From Middle English waterfoul, water-foul, equivalent to water + fowl. Compare Old English dopfugel (“waterfowl, moorhen”, literally “dipping-fowl”).

From Middle English addled, adyld, equivalent to addle (“urine, liquid filth”) + -ed. Addle derives from Old English adel, adela (“mud, mire, liquid manure”), cognate with Old Swedish adel (“urine”), Middle Low German adel, Dutch aal (“manure”). Used in noun phrase addle egg (mid-13c.) “egg that does not hatch, rotten egg”, lit. “urine egg”, a calque of Latin ovum urinum, which is itself an erroneous calque of Ancient Greek οὔριον ᾠόν (oúrion ōión, “putrid egg”, literally “wind egg”), from οὔριος (oúrios, “of the wind”), from οὖρος (oûros, “fair wind”) (confused by Roman writers with οὔριος (oúrios, “of urine”), from οὖρον (oûron, “urine”)). Because of this usage, the noun in English was taken as an adjective from c. 1600, meaning “putrid”.

Borrowed from French accouchement, from French accoucher (“to be delivered of a child, to aid in delivery”), from Old French acouchier (“to lay down, put to bed, go to bed”), from Latin ad- + collocare (“to lay, put, place”). See collate.

From whirly + bird.

From Middle English unsupportable, equivalent to un- + supportable.

Borrowed from Latin verrūca. Doublet of wart.

From un- + premeditated.

From Middle English unkyndely, from Old English unġecyndelīċ; equivalent to un- + kindly (adjective).

From up- + thrust.

From wash + basin.

From Middle English adamantine, adamantyne, adamauntyn (“(adjective) of adamant; (noun) adamant”), from Anglo-Norman adamantin and Middle French adamantin (“of or resembling adamant or diamond”) (modern French adamantin), and from its etymon Latin adamantinus (“adamantine”), from Ancient Greek ἀδᾰμάντῐνος (adămántĭnos, “hard as adamant; made of steel”), from ᾰ̓δᾰμᾰντ- (ădămănt-) (a stem of ἀδάμᾱς (adámās, “the hardest metal (probably steel); diamond”), possibly originally Semitic) + -ῐνος (-ĭnos, suffix meaning ‘made of’ forming adjectives). By surface analysis, adamant + -ine (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Etymology 1, adjective sense 1.2.4 (“having the quality of attracting or drawing”) and etymology 1, adjective sense 2 (“like diamond in lustre; etc.”) refer to adamant (“(archaic) lodestone; (historical, poetic) diamond”).

Unadapted borrowing from Latin ventriculus (“the belly”), diminutive of venter (“the belly”). Doublet of ventricle.

From un- + sacred.

From Middle English warpynge; equivalent to warp + -ing.

From unusual + -ness.

From un- + tumultuous.

Borrowed from Latin adductus, past participle of adduco. See adduce.