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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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* From Latin collūdere, from con- and lūdere (“to play”).

From Latin fastigium.

From Middle English bischilden, from Old English besċyldian, besċieldian (“to shield, defend”); equivalent to be- + shield.

From Latin dictum (“proverb, maxim”), from dictus (“having been said”), perfect passive participle of dico (“to say”). Compare Spanish dicho (“saying”). Doublet of dict.

From cyclops + -ean.

From care + giving.

Adapted borrowing of Latin garrulus (“talkative”) + -ous, from the verb garriō (“to chatter”).

From the participle stem of Renaissance Latin effectuare, or its source, Latin effectus (“effect”); probably after Middle French effectuer.

From Middle English *drob, drof, from Old English *drōb, drōf (“turbid; dreggy; dirty”), from Proto-West Germanic *drōbī, from Proto-Germanic *drōbuz (“turbid”).

From garrote + -er.

The second element is -ly; the first element may be Anglo-Norman gençur or Old French gençor, gensor, comparative forms (also attested as positives) of gent (“beautiful, noble, pleasant, courteous”). The Oxford English Dictionary notes, however, that there is a gap of a few centuries between the last appearance of gençor, etc., and the first appearance of gingerly. The adjective is derived from the adverb, possibly because -ly is also a suffix forming adjectives.

From Latin flexura. By surface analysis, flex + -ure

From fraction (“discord”) (now obsolete) + -ous.

From Middle English finis, from Latin fīnis (“end; limit”). Doublet of fin, fine, and finish.

Borrowed from Sanskrit ब्रह्मन् (bráhman).

From Latin exuviae (“what is shed”), from exuō (“cast off, strip”).

From Latin brūmālis (“of or pertaining to the winter solstice; wintry”), from brūma (“the winter solstice; winter”), which is a contraction of *brevima (“the shortest (day)”).

Uncertain, probably risen out of a British dialect (OED finds candidate words in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, southern Cheshire, and Sheffield). The formation seems to be onomatopœic, expressive of the notion of throwing down roughly and untidily. [OED]. First use appears c. 1837 in the writings of Charles Dickens.

From exuberant + -ness.

Imitative. Compare quonk.

From Middle English conjurer, from Anglo-Norman conjurour (“conjurer, conspirator”). Equivalent to conjure + -er.

From Latin deliramentum, from delirare. See delirium.

From dis- + recommend.

From bit + map.