Etymology — The Origins of English Words

ratfink

Origin

From rat + fink.

quiff

Origin

Variant form of whiff.

malkin

Origin

From Malde, an early form of Maude or Matilda + -kin (diminutive ending). Compare grimalkin.

hieroglyph

Origin

First attested around 1598, a back-formation from hieroglyphic (1580s), from Middle French hiéroglyphique, from Late Latin hieroglyphicus, from Ancient Greek ἱερογλυφικός (hierogluphikós) (Plutarch τά ἱερογλυφικά [γράμματα] "hieroglyphic [writing]), ἱερόγλυφος (hierógluphos, “carver of hieroglyphs”) (Ptolemy), a compound of ἱερός (hierós, “sacred, holy”) and γλυφή (gluphḗ, “carved work”), a calque of Egyptian mdw-nṯr (“the god’s word”), nTr-md. By surface analysis, hiero- + glyph.

postbellum

Origin

From Latin post bellum (literally “after the war”).

incredulity

Origin

Attested since 1430. From Middle English incredulite, from Old French incredulité, from Late Latin incredulitas, from Latin incredulus (“unbelieving”) + -itas (“-ity”), equivalent to incredulous + -ity.

masthead

Origin

From mast + head.

portly

Origin

From an archaic sense of port (“manner in which a person carries himself; bearing; deportment; carriage”) + -ly.

irreverent

Origin

From Latin irreverēns. By surface analysis, ir- + reverent.

hostelry

Origin

From Middle English hostelerie, from Middle French hostellerie, from Old French hostelerie, ostelerie; by surface analysis, hostel + -ry.

pimiento

Origin

From Spanish pimiento (“bell pepper; later any pepper”), from Latin pigmentum (“coloring; colorful thing”), from pingō (“to paint”) and -mentum (suffix denoting instruments and results of actions). Doublet of pigment, piment, and pimento.

induration

Origin

From Middle English induracioun, from Old French induracion (“hardness, obstinacy”) or directly from Medieval Latin induratiō.

probationer

Origin

From probation + -er.

inflammable

Origin

From Middle French inflammable, from Medieval Latin īnflammābilis, from Latin īnflammāre (“to set on fire”), from in (“in, on”) + flamma (“flame”). By surface analysis, inflame + -able, literally “able to be inflamed”.

lacerate

Origin

The verb is first attested in 1425, the adjective in 1514; inherited from Middle English laceraten, borrowed from Latin lacerātus, perfect passive participle of lacerō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

neediness

Origin

From Middle English nedynesse; equivalent to needy + -ness.

gunplay

Origin

From gun + play.

inveigle

Origin

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman enveugler, alteration of aveugler (“to blind, to delude”), from Old French avogle (“without eyes”), from Late Latin ab oculīs (“without eyes”, literally “away from the eyes”). The in- might be by analogy to variation between a- and en- in other French words, which was then latinised into in-. For the pronunciation with /iː/, compare the development of people; that with /eɪ/ is presumably a spelling pronunciation.

heterodoxy

Origin

From Ancient Greek ἑτεροδοξία (heterodoxía).

misconceive

Origin

From Middle English misconceiven, equivalent to mis- + conceive.

overwinter

Origin

From over- + winter. Compare Dutch overwinteren, German überwintern.

knowbie

Origin

From know + -bie, patterned after newbie, with know replacing new to suggest knowledge.

irrelative

Origin

From ir- + relative.

intellection

Origin

Borrowed from Latin intellectiō, intellectiōnem.