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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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ochre
Origin
From Old French ocre and its source Latin ōchra, from Ancient Greek ὤχρα (ṓkhra, “pale yellow”), from ὠχρός (ōkhrós, “pale, ocher”) (modern Greek ωχρός (ochrós)).
recidivate
Origin
Adapted borrowing of Medieval Latin recidīvātus + -ate (verb-forming suffix), past participle of recidīvō, from Latin recidīvus (“returning, recurring”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). Compare French récidiver. By surface analysis, recidive + -ate
parachronistic
Origin
Superficially para- (“beside; next to, parallel”) + chronistic. Compare anachronistic.
obeisance
Origin
From Middle English obeisaunce (“obedience, obeisance”), from Old French obeïssance, derived from obeïssant (“obedient”), participle of obeïr (“to obey”), from Latin oboediō, obēdiō; ob- (“to, for”) + audiō (“to hear”). Cognate with obedience.
infuriate
Origin
First attested in 1667; borrowed from Medieval Latin infuriātus (“enraged”), perfect passive participle of infuriō (“to enrage”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from Latin furia (“rage, fury, frenzy”); perhaps via Italian infuriato.
newswriter
Origin
From news + writer.
murrey
Origin
From Middle English murrey, murreye, from Middle French moré, morée, from Latin moratum, morata, from neuter and feminine respectively of moratus (“mulberry-colored”), from morum (“mulberry”) + -atus (“-ate”).
manacle
Origin
The noun is derived from Middle English manacle, manakelle, manakil, manakyll, manicle, manikil, manycle, manykil, manykle, from Anglo-Norman manicle, manichle (“gauntlet; handle of a plough; (in plural) manacles”), and Middle French manicle, Old French manicle (“armlet; gauntlet; (in plural) manacles”) (modern French manicle, manique (“gauntlet”)), from Latin manicula (“handle of a plough; manacle”), from manus (“hand”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- (“to beckon, signal”)) + -cula (from -culus, variant of -ulus (suffix forming diminutive nouns)). Doublet of manicle and manicule. The verb is probably derived from the noun, although according to the Oxford English Dictionary it is attested slightly earlier.
nonexistence
Origin
From non- + existence.
markup
Origin
Deverbal from mark up.
idiocentric
Origin
From idio- + -centric.
nascency
Origin
Learned borrowing from Latin nāscentia. Doublet of nascence.
illiteracy
Origin
From il- + literacy.
nascence
Origin
Adapted borrowing of Latin nāscentia + -ence, from nāscentem (“arising young, immature”), present participle of nāscī (“to be born”) (Old Latin gnāscī; see genus). Doublet of nascency.
maisonette
Origin
Borrowed from French maisonnette. Doublet of mansionette.
prescient
Origin
Learned borrowing from Latin praesciēns (“foreknowing; foretelling, predicting”), present participle of) Latin praesciō (“to foreknow”), from prae- (prefix meaning ‘before; in front’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- (“before; in front”)) + sciō (“to know, understand; to have knowledge of”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to dissect; to split”)). The word is cognate with Middle French prescient (modern French prescient (“prescient”)), Italian presciente (“prescient”). By surface analysis, pre- (“earlier in time, beforehand”) + scient (“knowing, aware”).
quadruplet
Origin
From quadruple + -et.
mair
Origin
From Middle English mair, mare, from Old English māra (“more”), from Proto-Germanic *maizô. More at more.
joyously
Origin
From Middle English joyously, equivalent to joyous + -ly.
greaten
Origin
From Middle English gretnen (“to become great, be pregnant”), equivalent to great + -en.
plebiscite
Origin
Sense 1 (“referendum”) is borrowed from French plébiscite, from Latin plēbiscītum, plēbis scītum, plēbī scītum (“law of the common people or plebs”), from plēbis (the genitive singular of plēbs (“common people, plebeians”)) + scītum (“decree, ordinance, statute”). Sense 3 (“law enacted by the common people”) is a learned borrowing from Latin plēbiscītum: see above. It is attested earlier than English plebiscitum. Cognates * Italian plebiscito * Middle French plebiscite (modern French plébiscite) * Middle Low German plebiscīt (“ordinance”) * Spanish plebiscito, plebisçito (obsolete)
lucent
Origin
From Latin lūcentem, the present participle of lūcēre (“to shine”).
groyne
Origin
From Middle English groyn (“snout”), from Old French groign, from Late Latin grunium, grunia, from Latin grunnire (“grunt like a pig”).
misdeed
Origin
From Middle English misdede, from Old English misdǣd (“misdeed”), from Proto-West Germanic *missadādi, from Proto-Germanic *missadēdiz (“misdeed”); equivalent to mis- + deed. Cognate with Scots misded (“misdeed”), West Frisian misdied (“misdeed”), Dutch misdaad (“misdeed”), German Missetat (“misdeed”), Swedish missdåd (“misdeed”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐍃𐍃𐌰𐌳𐌴𐌸𐍃 (missadēþs, “misdeed”).