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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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chintzy
Origin
From chintz + -y, from Hindi छींट (chī̃ṭ).
embolden
Origin
From bold (adjective) + em- -en (variant of en- -en (circumfix forming transitive verbs denoting an increase in, or intensification of, the quality denoted by the enclosed word)). Compare Middle English embolden, enbolden (“to make bold, encourage”) (modern English embold, enbold, imbold (obsolete)), and inboldysshen (“to embolden, encourage”).
bolshie
Origin
From Bolshevik (Russian большеви́к (bolʹševík), the socialist party in the 1918 Russian Revolution, from Russian большевики́ (bolʹševikí, “majority faction”), + -ie.
dray
Origin
From Middle English draye, dreye, from Old English dræġe (“dragnet”), from Proto-Germanic *dragǭ. Cognate with Middle Low German drāge (“stretcher; dray”), Middle High German trage (“a litter”). Related to Old English dragan (“to pull; draw”). More at draw.
genuflect
Origin
PIE word *ǵónu From around 1620–1630 from Medieval Latin genūflectō (“to bend the knee”) equivalent to the Latin genū (“knee”) + flectō (“to bend”).
fishworm
Origin
From fish + worm.
gimped
Origin
From gimp + -ed.
denigration
Origin
By surface analysis, denigrate + -ion.
declension
Origin
From late Middle English declinson, from Middle French declinaison (Modern French: déclinaison), from Latin dēclīnātiō. Doublet of declination.
canoodle
Origin
The origin of the verb is uncertain; the following possibilities have been suggested: * From a blend of ca(ress) + noodle (“to engage in frivolous behavior; to fool around or waste time; to mess around, to play”). * From German knuddeln (“to cuddle; (originally) to embrace tightly”); or related to Low German knuddle (“a clump, a knot”), a diminutive of knude, related to Old High German knodo, knoto (“a knot”) (modern German Knoten (“knot”)); ultimate etymology unknown. Compare also Norwegian Bokmål knulle (“to fuck”), Swedish knulla (“to fuck”), both from Proto-Germanic *knuzlijaną (“to beat; to mash”) (and also compare the semantics of the Scandinavian cognates of fuck). The noun is probably derived from the verb.
befoul
Origin
From be- + foul.
brusque
Origin
The adjective is borrowed from French brusque, from Italian brusco (“abrupt, sudden, brusque; brisk; eager; sour, tart; unripe; grim-looking”); further etymology unknown. The verb is derived from the adjective.
chronograph
Origin
From Ancient Greek χρονογράφος (khronográphos, “chronicler”). Equivalent to chrono- + -graph.
dubiety
Origin
Borrowed from Late Latin dubietās.
compliancy
Origin
From compliant + -cy or comply + -ancy or compliance + -y.
dumbness
Origin
From Middle English dombenesse, from Old English dumbnes; equivalent to dumb + -ness. Cognate with Old Frisian dumbnisse (“folly, dumbness”).
disoblige
Origin
From Middle French desobliger. By surface analysis, dis- + oblige.
embrasure
Origin
From French embrasure, from embras(er) + -ure, from Old French embrasure (“cut at a slant, make a groove or furrow”), from em- + braser (“cut at a slant”).
commiserate
Origin
From commiserātus, the perfect passive participle of commiseror.
blatherskite
Origin
From blather + skite (“shit, shite”). Alternatively the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary asserts that the word is of Scottish origin, with blather/blether + skate referring to someone who is "contemptible". First use of the term dates to the mid-17th century. Compare cheapskate.
diocesan
Origin
From Middle French diocesain.
gnarl
Origin
Back-formation from gnarled.
galoot
Origin
From Quranic Arabic جالُوت (jālūt, pronounced galūt in Egyptian Arabic), proper name equivalent to English Goliath, giant warrior of the ancient Philistine ethnicity; cf. connotations of derogatory uses of English Philistine. Doublet of goliath.
consequent
Origin
Borrowed from Middle French conséquent, from Latin consequens, consequentem, present participle of consequi (“to follow”), from con- + sequi (“to follow”). Compare French conséquent.