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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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plonker
Origin
From plonk + -er.
abutting
Origin
From abut + -ing.
spellbind
Origin
From spell + bind.
talebearer
Origin
From Middle English taleberer; equivalent to tale + bearer.
accession
Origin
Ultimately from Latin accessiō(n), from accēdō (English accede). Cognate to French accession. First attested in 1646.
subsistence
Origin
From Middle English subsistence; partly from Middle French subsistence (modern French subsistance) and partly from its etymon Late Latin subsistentia (“substance, reality, in Medieval Latin also stability”), from Latin subsistēns, present participle of subsistere (“to continue, subsist”). Perhaps also partly from subsist + -ence.
wrick
Origin
From Middle English wricken, probably from Middle Dutch wricken (Modern Dutch wrikken (“to wriggle”)) or Middle Low German wricken (“to move jerkily; sprain”), from Proto-Germanic *wrigōną (“to wriggle”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyḱ- (“to turn, wrap, tie”), from *wer- (“to turn, bend”). See also Low German wriggen, German Low German wricken (“to row; scull; move back and forth”)). Compare also Danish vrikke (“to move; turn; wriggle”), Swedish vricka (“to sprain; twist; scull”).
qualm
Origin
Perhaps from Middle English qualm, cwalm (“death, sickness, plague”), which is from Old English cwealm (West Saxon: "death, disaster, plague"), ūtcualm (Anglian: "utter destruction"), from Proto-West Germanic *kwalm (“killing, death, destruction”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (“to stick, pierce; pain, injury, death”), whence also quell. Although the sense development is possible, this has the problem that there are no attestations in intermediate senses before the appearance of "pang of apprehension, etc." in the 16th century. The alternative etymology is from Dutch kwalm or German Qualm (“steam, vapor, mist”) earlier “daze, stupefaction”, which is from the root of German quellen (“to stream, well up”). The sense “feeling of faintness” is from 1530; “uneasiness, doubt” from 1553; “scruple of conscience” from 1649.
heedful
Origin
From heed + -ful.
orate
Origin
Partly borrowed from Latin ōrātus, perfect passive participle of ōrō (“to speak; to pray”) and/or partly back-formation from oration, from Latin ōrātiō (“speech, discourse, oration”); either way, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix). By surface analysis, Latin or- + -ate.
maculate
Origin
First attested during the last quarter of the 15th century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English maculaten (“to spoil, polute”), borrowed from Latin maculātus, perfect passive participle of maculō (“to spot”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix).
proliferate
Origin
Back-formation from proliferation.
ballista
Origin
Borrowed from Latin ballista, from Ancient Greek βαλλίστρα (ballístra), from βάλλω (bállō, “to throw”).
lineament
Origin
From Middle French linéament, from Latin lineamentum, from linea (“line”).
exhort
Origin
From Middle English exorten, from Old French exhorter, from Latin exhortārī (“to encourage”), from ex- (“out of, from”) + hortārī (“to incite, spur”).
sanguine
Origin
From Middle English sanguine, from Old French sanguin, ultimately from Latin sanguineus (“of blood”), from sanguis (“blood”) (of uncertain origin, but probably from Proto-Indo-European *h₁sh₂-én-, from *h₁ésh₂r̥ (“blood”), with an obscure suffix such as *-ǵʰ- (related to body parts)) + -inus + -eus. The obsolete medical sense is in reference to the humour (blood) which ancient Hippocratic and later Galenic medicine associated with cheerfulness, optimism, confidence, liveliness, and spiritedness. Doublet of sanguineous.
shemozzle
Origin
UK late-19th century. Borrowed from Yiddish שלימזל (shlimazl, “misfortune”), from Middle High German slim (“crooked”) and Hebrew מַזָּל (mazzāl, “luck”). Cognate with US English schlimazel (“unlucky person”). Compare German Schlamassel.
rollout
Origin
Deverbal from roll out.
shelve
Origin
The verb is a back-formation from shelves, the plural of shelf (“flat, rigid structure, fixed at right angles to a wall or forming a part of a cabinet, desk, etc., and used to display, store, or support objects”). The noun is derived from etymology 1, verb sense 2 (“(obsolete) to hang over or project like a shelf”).
interpolate
Origin
From Latin interpolātus, perfect passive participle of interpolō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Compare French interpoler.
groundbreaker
Origin
From ground + breaker.
milksop
Origin
From Middle English milksop, mylk sop, mylke soppe, equivalent to milk + sop.
maladroit
Origin
Borrowed from French maladroit, from mal- (“bad, badly”) + adroit (“skilful”), equivalent to mal- + adroit.
smutch
Origin
Perhaps an alteration of smudge, smatch, or smooch.