Etymology — The Origins of English Words

From Middle English comper, from Middle French comper, from Latin compater, compatrem. Doublet of compere as well as compadre and goombah. Influenced by folk-etymological analysis as com- + peer.

Borrowed from French esprit (“spirit”). Doublet of spirit, spiritus, spirytus, sprite, and spright, possibly also spree.

Corresponding to false + -ity. From Middle French fausseté, Old French falseté, from Late Latin falsitas, from Latin falsus.

From augur + -y, or from Middle English augurie, from Old French augurie, from Latin augurium.

From Latin fortitūdin- + -ous, from oblique stem of Latin fortitūdō, from fortis + -tūdō. By surface analysis, fortitude + -ous.

Shitgibbon compound of douche + wagon.

From Latin excrēta, neuter plural of excrētus, past participle of excernere.

Borrowed from Latin contingentia (whence con- + and -ence), from contingēns, present passive participle of contingō (“to make contact with, to be touching”).

From chin + wag.

From Hindi छाता (chātā), from Sanskrit छत्त्र (chattra, “umbrella, parasol, chatra”). Doublet of chador and chatra.

From Middle English galoche, from Old French galoche (“a shoe with a wooden sole”), but its further history is uncertain. further theories * From Vulgar Latin *galopium or Late Latin calopedia (“a wooden shoe; a shoe with a wooden sole”), from Ancient Greek κᾱλοπόδιον (kālopódion), diminutive of κᾱλόπους (kālópous, “shoemaker's block”), compound of κᾶλον (kâlon, “wood”) and πούς (poús, “foot”). (More at holt and foot.) * From Late Latin gallicula, diminutive of Latin gallica (solea) (“Gallic (sandal)”). * From Old French galette (“flat round cake”), from galet (“pebble”).

From Middle English avidite, from Old French avidite (modern French avidité), from Latin aviditās (“avidity, covetousness”), equivalent to avid + -ity.

Possibly continuing Middle English forgetenes (“forgetfulness”); or recreated in modern times from forget + -ness, modelled after forgiveness. Compare West Frisian ferjitnis (“forgetfulness”), Dutch vergetenis (“forgetfulness”).

From French égoïsme, from New Latin egoismus, from Latin ego. By surface analysis, ego + -ism.

Borrowed from Dutch dominee and Afrikaans dominee.

From Latin effulgēns (“flashing, glittering”), present participle of effulgeō (“to shine or gleam forth, flash, glitter”), from ē- (variant of ex- (prefix meaning ‘out; away’)) + fulgeō (“to flash, gleam, glisten, glitter, shine”) (from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“shiny; white”)). By surface analysis, ef- + Latin fulg(ere) + -ent.

First attested in 1967; from de- + collate.

From fertile + -ness.

From Old French fraisne.

Uncertain. First attested in the 1560s. Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰus- (“lip, to kiss”) via Proto-Germanic *busaną (compare German bussen), but in any case imitative of kissing. Compare Welsh bus (“kiss, lip”) and Irish bus (“lips, mouth”) (both may have influenced English), Persian بوس (bus, “kiss”), Latvian buča (“kiss”), Latin basium (“kiss”). Mainstream proposals like in The Free Dictionary have suggested it is a blend of old English dialect words bass (related to French baiser) and cuss (akin to kissen); perhaps compare puss.

From Latin fēcunditās (“fruitfulness, fertility”), from fēcundus, equivalent to fecund + -ity.

A (possibly dialectal) alteration of dangleberry.

Borrowed from French enclave, from Middle French enclave (“enclave”), deverbal of enclaver (“to inclose”), from Old French enclaver (“to inclose, lock in”), from Vulgar Latin *inclāvāre (“to lock in”), from in + Latin clavis (“key”) or clavus (“nail, bolt”). Compare inlock.

From Old French, from Latin aedificationem (“building, construction”), an accusative form of aedificatio, from aedificare.