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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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gerrymandering
English
A blend of the surname of Elbridge Gerry, governor of Massachusetts, and salamander, after a contorted electoral district approved under him in 1812 that was said to resemble the animal.
gentrification
English
Formed from gentry, meaning people of higher social rank, plus -fication; the term entered urban sociology in the 1960s to describe changes in inner London.
GC
English
An initialism, standing for group chat, gift card or general contractor depending on context.
gaffe
French
From French gaffe, a boat hook, which came to be used figuratively for a clumsy blunder.
FYI
English
An initialism of for your information.
fye
English
A respelling of fire used as slang for something excellent.
fwd
English
A written shortening of forward; in motoring, an initialism of front-wheel drive.
FW
English
An abbreviation of forward in email use, and of firmware in computing.
fungible
Latin
From medieval Latin fungibilis, from the phrase fungi vice, 'to serve in place of', from fungi, 'to perform'.
functionality
English
From functional, itself from function (Latin functio, 'performance, execution'), plus the noun-forming suffix -ity.
fugazi
French
Origin unknown; a number of possibilities have been suggested: * One theory is that it is a corruption of French fougasse (“type of land mine”); flame fougasses were used extensively in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. * Less plausibly, it might be from English fugacious (“fleeting”) or cognates such as Italian fugace (“fleeting”). * It has also been suggested that it could be an acronym of “fucked up, got ambushed, zipped in [a body bag]”, but this is more likely a backronym, not the origin (compare FUBAR).
fuego
Spanish
From Spanish fuego 'fire', which comes from Latin focus 'hearth'. The slang sense mirrors the English use of fire to mean excellent.
FTW
English
An initialism of the phrase for the win, which comes from gaming and quiz-show language for a move or answer that secures victory.
FTM
English
An initialism of female to male.
fs
English
An abbreviation of for sure, spread through texting and online chat.
fr
English
An abbreviation of the phrase for real, spread through texting and social media.
fortification
Latin
Via French from late Latin fortificatio, from fortificare 'to make strong', from Latin fortis 'strong' and facere 'to make'.
foreshadowing
English
From fore- 'before, in advance' plus shadow, on the image of a shadow being cast ahead of the thing that casts it.
force majeure
French
A borrowing from French, literally 'superior force', taken into English through French contract law.
forbearance
English
From the verb forbear 'to hold back, refrain', formed from the Old English prefix for- and beran 'to bear, carry', plus the noun suffix -ance.
food chain
Origin
From food + chain.
fiscal year
Latin
Fiscal comes from Latin fiscalis 'of the state treasury', from fiscus, originally a basket or purse and later the public purse.
finna
English
A contracted form of fixing to, a phrase long used in Southern American English to mean 'about to'; finna is particularly associated with African American English.
fiduciary
Latin
From Latin fiduciarius 'held in trust', from fiducia 'trust, confidence', which comes from fidere 'to trust'. The same root gives fidelity and confide.