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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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pertinacity
Origin
From Middle French pertinacité, from Old French pertinace (“obstinate, stubborn”).
laicist
Origin
From laic + -ist.
lawmaking
Origin
From law + making.
quintuplet
Origin
From quintuple + -et, from Middle French quintuple.
intoxicate
Origin
First attested in 1450, in Middle English; from Middle English intoxicaten, from intoxicat(e) (“(of a weapon or drug) smeared, anointed or filled with poison; (of a human being, animal) poisoned, intoxicated”, also used as the past participle of intoxicaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from intoxicātus, perfect passive participle of intoxicō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from Late Latin toxicō (“to smear, anoint with poison”), from toxicus (“toxic, poisonous”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix), from Ancient Greek τοξικόν (toxikón). By surface analysis, in- + toxic + -ate.
lycanthrope
Origin
From Latin lycanthrōpus, from Ancient Greek λυκάνθρωπος (lukánthrōpos) – a compound of λύκος (lúkos, “wolf”) + ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, “man, human”). By surface analysis, lyc- + -anthrope.
prole
Origin
From proletarian by shortening.
patrician
Origin
Borrowed from Middle French patricien, from Latin patricius, derived from patrēs cōnscrīptī (“Roman senators”). May also have been derived from Latin patricius + -ian
packman
Origin
From pack + -man.
husbandman
Origin
From Middle English husbandman, husbondman, equivalent to husband + -man.
overleap
Origin
From Middle English overlepen, from Old English oferhlēapan. Compare Dutch overlopen (“to spill over; overflow”), German überlaufen (“to overrun; overflow”). By surface analysis, over- + leap.
locant
Origin
By surface analysis, loc(us) + -ant
murk
Origin
From Middle English mirke, merke, from Old English mirce, myrce (“darkness, gloom”) and Old Norse myrkr (“darkness, gloom”), both from Proto-Germanic *merkwą, *mirkwiz (“darkness”), Proto-Indo-European *mergʷ- (“to flicker; to darken; to be dark”).
pharmacopole
Origin
From Latin pharmacopola, from Ancient Greek φαρμακοπώλης (pharmakopṓlēs), from φάρμακον (phármakon, “drug, charm, enchantment”) + -πώλης (-pṓlēs, “-seller, -monger”). Doublet of pharmacopolist.
ouzel
Origin
From Middle English osel, from Old English ōsle, from Proto-West Germanic *ą̄slā, *amslā, from Proto-Germanic *amslǭ. Cognate with German Amsel. For the spelling, compare Early Modern English bloud (“blood”).
operant
Origin
From Middle English operant, from Latin operāns.
horsy
Origin
From horse + -y. Cognate with Middle Low German rössich (“horselike, equipped with a horse”).
philology
Origin
Inherited from Middle English Philologie, from Latin philologia, from Ancient Greek φιλολογίᾱ (philologíā, “love of argument or reasoning, love of learning and literature”).
longwave
Origin
From long + wave.
practic
Origin
From Middle English practic, practik, partly from Old French practique and partly from its etymon, Late Latin prācticus (“active”), from Ancient Greek πρακτικός (praktikós, “of or pertaining to action, concerned with action or business, active, practical”), from πράσσω (prássō, “to do”). Doublet of practico.
obverse
Origin
From Latin obversus, 1650s.
prickle
Origin
From Middle English prykkyl, prykyl, from Old English pricel, pricels, pricle (“a prickle, sharp point, bit”), from a conflation of Proto-West Germanic *prikislī and *prikil (“prickle”). By surface analysis, prick + -le. Cognate with West Frisian prikel (“goad, prickle”), Dutch prikkel (“sting, prickle, stimulus”), German Low German Prekel (“wooden stick, poker”), Saterland Frisian prikkelje (“to propel, spur on, goad”). First attested in the Old English period.
melange
Origin
From French mélange, from Middle French mélange, meslange, from Old French meslance, meslinges (“set of diverse elements”), derived from mescler (“to mingle, mix up”) (modern French mêler), from Vulgar Latin *misculāre, from Latin misceō (“mix”) + -inges, a suffix from Frankish *-ingo (“-ing”). More at mix, -ing.
harridan
Origin
Perhaps a modification of French haridelle (“old horse, nag”).