Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English [2 ed.]

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ORIGINS

BY THE SAME AUTHOR A

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Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English(Rout\edge; 6th printing, 70ir. —U.S.A.: Macmillan; $12.50)

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Slang Today and Yesterday: a history and a study (Routlcdge; 4th printing305.— U.S.A.: Macmillan; $5.00)

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Study and a Glossary (Routledge; 3rd edition, 21j. Shakespeare's Bawdy: U.S.A.: Button; $5.00)

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Usage and Abusage:

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revised, enlarged,

Book

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The Concise Usage and Abusage (Hamish Hamilton; 2nd impression,

8j.

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U.S.A.: Philosophical Library; $3.50)

Name

Christian or given names (Hamish 6, hence lit 'to get a bah out of someone', or, more prob, of es+baer (Mod bayer), to bay, influenced by baif, astounded (B W): cf 'to bay'. Abashment: esbahisse-

abash:

abaissen

The

which take on that of the Abdominal: abdomin-, o/s of abdomen + did] suffix -ai Cf the element abdomino-. abduct, abduction, abductor. See duke, para 6. aberrant, aberration. See err, para 2. abet, abettor. See bait. abeyance is an AF word deriving from MF-EF IE

2.

abiectiis

(ML

away, and abiection-

(ML

jet.

pp of

abj-),

from

5.

f.a.e.

the

— Imm

from L throw abiectio, o/s

abi{i)cere,

derivative

to

ab/-).

abjure, abjurement or abjuration. Cf conjure, but see jury, n, para 4. ablation, ablative. See the 1st toll, para 6. ablaut. See loud, para 3.

ablaze: on, in + BLAZE. able; ability. See habit, para 5.

abluent, ablution. See

lava, para

9.

abnegate, abnegation. See negate, para 2. abnormal, abnormality. See norm, para 3.

Abo, abo. See origin, para 6. aboard. See board. abode. See bide, para 3. abolish, abolishment, abolition (-ism, -ist): via abolissant, pres p, or (nous) abolissons,

from late perish from F perir abolish,

MF-F

— from

abolir,

L

to abolish

1st,

we

— cf

abolere, to destroy,

to abolish, perh ex abolescere, to perish (ab, away,

(hence) no\. + alescere, to nourish, cf aliment); 2nd either=aio/w/i + suffix -itieni or, more prob, derives from F abolissemenl; 3rd. abolition (whence abolitionism, abolitionist

adopted from

late

:

cf the suffixes -ism, -ist)

MF-F, which took

it

from

the ace of L abolitio, itself from pp of abolere. abominable; abominate, abomination. See omen, para 2. aboriginal, aborigine. See origin, para 6. abort, abortion, abortive. See origin, para 4. abound. See unda, para 4.

aboliiionem, abolitus,

ME

about: aboute, earlier abouten, earliest abuten OE abutan, for onbiilan, on the outside of: :

ABOVE

ACCEDE

on + bulan, outside, itself contracting be, by+ulan, outside, itself deriving from ul, out: cf therefore ON, BY, OUT.

Adv from

prep.

Cf

ME

&

—

(Sophocles)— found on (in Webster) as L abracadabra from Aram abhadda kidabrah, 'Disappear (O abracadabra written as a sickness) as this word' diagram resting finally on the initial a. abrade, abrasion, abrasive. See rase, para \. abrasax, abraxas. A charm, an amulet. See year'

ABRACADABRA. abridge, abridgement.

The latter comes from MF-EF abregement, from abregier (f abreger), from ML abbreviare, from L abbreuidre: ab-, either the assimilation (to b) of ad, to, or, more prob, ab, from, in nuance cf 'off' + breuidre, to shorten, from fcreuij, short BRIEF. OF abregier yie\ds ME abregen, whence 'to :

abridge'.

abroad. See broad. abrogate, abrogation, abrogator. See

rogation,

abruption,

abruptness.

See

rupture,

3.

abscess: (esp of

L

abscessus, a departure, a gathering

bad matter), an abscess. See cede. 2nd shed.

abscissa, abscind, abscission. See the

para

4.

abscond. See recondite, para

1.

absence; absent. See esse, para S. absinthe (occ AE absinth): EF-F absinthe: reshaped from OF-EF absince: L absinthium: Gr

wormwood, from OPer. The v absinthior impregnate with wormwood, comes LL pa absinthidtus, flavoured with worm-

apsinthion,

ate, to treat

from the wood.

absolute, absolution, absolve. See lose, para

absonant. See sonable, para

5.

5.

absorb; absorbent (absorbency); absorption; absorptive.

"To absorb' comes (perh via MF-F absorber) from L absorbire: ab, away + sorbere{s sorb-), to suck

in

or up, akin to

Gr

rhophein

(s

rhoph-) to

swallow— cf Ionic rhuphein;

to Lith surbli(ssurb-), to suck, sribli, to sip, lap up; to Mir srub, snout (esp a pig's), and Ga srubadh, to suck, and sruab, to drink with smacking lips.

Absorbent (whence, via absorbent-, o/s of

ML

absorptive

(c

*absorptivus.

tenable, para

5.

L

abstemius: abs, var of ab, (away) of temetum, potent liquor, perh akin to Skt tdmyati (s tarn-), he is dazed or

abstemious:

from + the

r

(tern-)

dumbfounded. alistention; abstinence, abstinent. See

para

tenable,

5.

abstergent, abstersion. See terse, para 2. abstract, abstraction, abstractive. See tract,

para

10.

abstruse. See

thrust, para

2.

abstvd, absurdity. See surd, para 3. abiudance, abundant. See unda, para 4. abuse, n and v; abusive. See use, para 9. abut, abutment, abuttal. See butt, to push or strike with the head.

abysm, abysmal; abyss, abyssal.

Both adJJ simply tack the suffix -al to the nn; abysm derives from OF-MF abisme (F ablme), LL 'abismus (by influence of suffix -ismus, cf. -ism), LL abyssus (whence E abyss), bottomless pit, itself from Gr abussos, bottomless: a-, T\ot + bussos, bottom or depth, akin to bulhos, bottom (of the sea), itself prob akin to bathos, depth, and bathus, deep, qq.v. at bathos. acacia: L acacia: Gr akakia, very prob from Egyptian, the name being orig applied to a thorny Egyptian tree or shrub cf Gr akakalis, the seed(s) of the Egyptian tamarisk, with influence from the IE r ak-, sharp, (hence) thorny. (Boisacq.) Chem :

acacetin and acacin—acac\a + acetin (cf acid)

acocia +

3.

abrupt,

from

also

gulf or

OF-MF

para

suffix -ive), as if

yields

from

abreast. See breast.

para

absorpt-

abstain, abstainer. See

above, earlier aboven: late OE above: abufan: a, on+bufan, above, itself contracting be, by + ufan, above: cf therefore on, by, over. Prep very soon from adv. Cf. prec. abracadabra: o.o.o., it is explained either (in B W) as the LL transcription of Gr d^Qacddapga {abrasadabra, where c=j but was read as k), the whole being an elaboration of LL (Church Fathers') Abraxas, for Basilides the Gnostic's 'The 'AjiQaaa.^, Abrasax, the Lord of Heaven numerical value of this figment is 365, the number

of days in the amulets; or else

absorbire;

suffix -cy, absorbency):

L absorbens,

presp of absorbire. Absorption: absorption-, o/s of L absorptio, formed from absorpt-, the s of absorptus, pp of

Chem

and

suffix -in.

Academe, academy, academic(al), academician, academicism or academism. The development is natural and easy: the Gr hero Akademos (L Academus), orig Hekademos, gave his name to Akademeia (orig a f adj), orig Hekad€meia, that gymnasium in a suburb of Athens where Plato taught, hence (akademeia) a place of superior learning, the L form acadimia yielding, via F academic, the E academy and the now literary academe; the Gr adj Akademeikos, hence akademeikos, became L academicus, became alike F acad^mique and E academic (adj, hence also n), with elaboration academical (adj suffix -a[). Academism= academy +-ism\ academicism^ academic + -ism. Academician derives from F academicien, which = L academic(us)-'rS\iSa. -ien (cf the suffix -ian).

acajou. See cashew. acanth, acanthus, acantliine; acantba; cf the element acantlio-. Acanth anglicizes acanthus, the L trln (whence the adj acanthinus, whence E acanthine) of Gi akanthos, a herb with spiny floweri, itself from akantha, a thorn or prickle (Webster): ? perhaps rather akantha from akanthos, lit 'spine flower':

aki, a

pomx + anthos,

a flower.

Cf acute.

acariform; acaroid. See elennent acari-, aearo-. acaulous. See caul. accede, whence accedence (suffix -ence); i

ACCUMULATE

ACCELERATE accessary, from accessory; accessible; accession: resp, L accedere (supine accessum, s access-), to

move

towards,

approach, ad, to + cedere

to

(s

ced-), to move, cf cede; access, L accessus, from accedere; accessary, an -ary (as in necessary) var of

accessory (adj, hence sorius,

from

n),

itself

accessus; accessible,

from from

approachable, from accedere

bills,

ML LL

— cf

acces-

accessi-

the suffix

The gram accidence stands

for accidents, pi of accident, something that happens to a word, a

chance event, from the accident, from the L presp (as above). Accidented, uneven of surface, owes much to the

special sense of accident, a

OF-F n syn

F

accldente.

Cf cadence, para

-Ible; accession, from accession-, o/s of L accessto, an approach, from the pp {accessus) of accedere. cf concede, precede, recede; proceed,

the

succeed; abscess.

acedia, trln of

accelerate, acceleration, accelerative,

accelera-

celerity. 1mm from Lacceleratus, pp of accelerare, to cause to go faster; EF-F acceleration and EF-F accelerateur, both from EF-F accdlerer (from L accelerdre); the 3rd term, anl tor; f.a.e.:

from

canto. Resp,

accent, adopted

from

accent us (ad, to + cantus, a singing, a song), from canere; accentor, adopted from L {ad+ cantor, a singer, from canere); accentual^ accent +-ual (cf the -ual oi gradual in relation to

MF-F, from L

ML

grade); accentuate, occentuatus, pp of accentudre, from accentus; accentuation, adopted from EF-F, from accentuation-, o/s of accentudtlo,

ML

from accentudre. acceptable,

accept,

The 2nd 1st,

is

the obs

by

L Gr

form (adopted from OF) of

ML

from

itself

influenced

accldla, a faulty

accldere,

akedla,

to

lit

'a

happen

shape

—of

LL

not-caring' (priva-

noi + kedos, care, anxiety); LL acedia accounts for E acedia, apathy, (eccl) sloth. Gr kedos is akin to hate, q.v. acclaim, acclamation, acdamatory. See claim, para 4. tive

a-,

acclimate, acclimation, acclimatize, acclimatiza-

'to accelerate'.

accent (n, hence v); accentor, accentual; accentuwhence accentuator; accentuation. The effective origin resides in L canere (s can-),

ate,

to sing: cf

7.

accidia, accidie; acedia.

acceptance,

acceptant;

tion.

See clime, para 5. See clime, para

acclinal, acclinate. acclivitous,

para

acclivity,

7.

See

acclivous.

clivus,

2.

accolade: adopted from EF-F: It accollata (s accol-), itself from accollare (s accol-), to embrace: from L ad, lo-\- collum (r col-), neck cf collar. :

accommodate, accommodation. See modal, para 14. accompany; accompam'ment, accompanist. See pantry, para 9. accomplice. See complice at ply, para 21: accomplish, adj accomplished; accomplishment See plenary, para 7. accompt: an old form of account. accord, n and v; accordable; accordance, accord-

acceptation— acception; acceptive, acceptor. Here we have two groups: first, the derivatives, via F, from L acceptdre (s accept-), the freq of acclpere, to receive, whence, via the pp acceptus or its s accept; the second group, acclpere (s acclp-) being an ad- (to) cpd of capere (s cap-), to take: cf CAPABILITY. Thus, I: accept, MF-F accepter, L acceptdre; acceptable, adopted from OF-F, from

ancy; accordant; according; accordion. All except the last come from OF acorder, from LL accorddre, ac- for ad, to + cord-, the o/s of cor (gen cordis), heart: cf cordial and heart. Thus: the n accord, ac(c)ord or acorde, from OF

LL

acord(e),

—

from acceptare cf the suffix prob direct from LL acceptd(gen -Itatls); acceptance, adopted from OF

acceptdbllls,

-able; acceptability, bllltds

accepter+suSix -ance); acceptant, prob via F, from acceptant-, o/s of acceptans, (accept-, s of

MF-F, Group II:

presp of acceptdre; acceptation, perh via

from

LL

accept dtto, o/s acceptation-.

EF-F, from acception-, o/s an accepting, acceptance, formed (abstract -id, gen -idnls) upon accept-, s of acceptus (as above), whence also acceptor, adopted by E; acceptive (cf the suffix -Ive), as if from ML *accepttvus. Cf CAPABILITY, para 7. acception, perh via late

of

L

acceptlo,

access, accessary, accessible, accession, sory. See

accidence accident, adj

L

acces-

ACCEDE.

accldere (ad, to + cadere, to

accldens,

o/s

accident,

now

ML

to

adw

befall,

accident-,

fall: cf cadence to happen, has presp

whence

usu accidental

the

(MF-F

rare

adj

accldentel,

from accldentdlls); whence also the n accidentia, chance, a chance, whence the obs syn E accidence and the extant accidency (cf suffix -cy).

according, accordingly; accordant, however, from acordant, adopted from the

derives

ME

acordant, presp of acorder,

whence also both

OF OF

acordable (cf suffix -able), whence E accordable, and OF acordance, whence E accordance, with var accordancy. The musical accordion consists of It accord-, the s of accordare, to play in tune + the -ion of, e.g., clarion and melodlon. accost. See coast, para 3. accouchement. See couch. account, n and v; accountable; accountancy; accountant; accounting. See the 2nd count,

para

(obs), accidency; gram accidence; and n; accidental; accidented.

and chance),

ME

from acorder, whence, via ME ac(c)orden, whence the pa according, whence the

'to accord',

5.

accouter (AE), accoutre; accouterment (AE), accoutrement. See sent, para 6. accredit, accredited. See credence, para 7. accrescence, accretion, accrete. See crescent, para 3. accrual, accrue. See crescent, para 4. accumbent, accumbency. See hive, para 8. accumulate, accumulation, etc. See cumulate, para 2.

ACRID

ACCURACY accuracy, accurate. See cure, para 3. accursed. See curse. accuse; accusable, accusal, accusant, accusation, accusative, accusatorial, accusatory. Sec cause,

hence chaff:

akhn-, prob

s

r

Gr akhuron

akh-; cf

akhur-, prob r akh-), straw.

(s

ME acolyt, acolite: ML a^olitus,

acolyte:

LL

acolithus:

Gr

acolHthus, acolyte:

earlier

akolouthos

para 5. accustom. See custom. as, OF-F as, L as, a unit of the ace, n hence v duodecimal system, hence a monetary standard and, later, a copper coin: perh an Etruscan word. Semantically, what serves as a standard is (or is regarded as) the best: hence the card-game sense: hence the sporting, hence again the aeronautical

(adj hence n), attendant: a-, with-{-keleuthos (r

sense.

struggle (L

:

cf

acute.

Chem

but perh suggested by akoniti, the adv of the adj

—

MD

—

heraldic hatchiuent. achieve; achievement The 3rd either corrupts the 2nd, influenced by

F

hachement, an ornament in heraldry, or (EW) direct from F hachement, an inferior form of acesmement, from OF acesmer, to adorn, itself the 2nd derives from MF-F achevement o.o.o. (cf the suffix -ment), from OF-F achever, to bring to a head, to conclude: a (Mod a), Xo + chef, head: acheven, cf chief; and the 1st derives from

comes

ME

from the OF-F achever. n; acidic; acidific, acidify; acidity; acidulate, acidulous; acescence, acescent; acetate; acetic, acetous; acetylene. The adj acid comes, perh via EF-F, from L (s acid-, r ac-:

yields, perh via

The dim L whence

n

EF-F

from L

cf torrid

ar/c/ yields the

-ic).

;

The

field:

field'.

folk -etymological for

acoustics derives

from

as ethics

L

The

oak (OE

ethic:

from the adj acoustic, and acoustic descends,

Gr akousis (whence -acousis), a hearing. acquaint; acquaintance. aqueyntance, from The latter derives from for

ME

OF-EF acointance, from OF-EF acointier, from LL accognitdre: ac- for ad-, lo + cognitus, known, to know (a person), itself =co-, •wiih+gnoscere, the old form of noscere, to know:

acidite, the

E

aciditds

and

acointier

becomes

v

has

query, para

5.

acquire, acquirement; acquisition, acquisitive. See

QUERY, para

7.

QUIET, para

6.

whence

collective acreage (suffix -age)

OE

achar (cf

and acetose or acetous (cf -ose and -ous). In Chem, both L acitiim and E acetic possess numerous derivatives: here we need mention only acetylene:

PILGRIM.

all

-^0 + Chem -ene (as zene). Cf the element aceti- or aceto-.

in ben-

acute.

acknowledge, acknowledgement. See can, para

6.

a point, the topmost point, the acmic (for acmetc). F.a.e.,

ak-. Adj:

a

Gr

akhne, a particle.

aecer, akin to

meaning

field;

prob

G

ON

akr

;

to

L ager,

Skt djras, a plain. IE

a

field

r: *agr-.

'pasture' or 'pasture land'

acrid,

Da

(cf

:

ME

—

ager)

Acker}— OS akkar— Go akrs—

'a field'

lead or drive flocks or herds.

— cf

;

Gr

qgros,

Basic sense, agere, to

L

Cf acorn and

acrimonious, acrimony; acerb,

acridity;

acerbity.

Acridity (suffix -ity) derives

app blends

acr-, the

acid-, the s

of

ML ness,

L

o/s of

L

from

acrid,

which

acer, sharp, with

acidus. Acrimonious

comes from

dcrimoniosus, the adj of L dcrimonia, sharpfrom acer; dcrimonia yields bitterness, E acrimonie. Acerbity goes, perh

acrimony pexh via via

s.f.

acne: SciL, perh from

See

acquit; acquitment, acquittal, acquittance. acre,

+ Chem

7, s.f.

acquiesce; acquiescence, acquiescent See quiet,

suffix -ate.

-fy; the latter

'to acquaint'.

acquest. See

para

acidity (cf -ity).

+ \\\t

and quaint: f.a.e., can. OF-EF becomes ME acointen, later aqueynten,

cognition

cf

OHG

acute,

is

perh via F acoustique, from Gr akoustikos, aural, from akouein (s akou-), to hear, itself akin to hear. Catacoustics=cat-, for prefix cata-'r acoustics; dysacousia or -acousis^dys-, bad(ly) +acouj;a, Sci

aker,

r,

produce) of the

'fruit (or

Acescence = acescent -\- -ce; acescent comes, perh from L acescent-, o/s of acescens, presp of to become or turn sour, the inch of acere, to be sharp, hence sour. Acetate comes from L acetum, vinegar, itself from acere, akin to acer, sharp; and acetum gives us the adjj acetic (acid)

Gr akmc,

acre, the basic meaning of

see

f.a.e.,

The n

much

accscere,

acme:

i.e.

acoustic, acoustics; catacoustics; dysacousia or

via F,

prime: IE

dust),

affords cardiac relief.

-acousis.

derivative acidification.

:

it

ON

Mod E spelling dc) + corn.

torrere, s

Ln

adj acidulus accounts for acidulous,

Acidific, acidify: acid+ific

F.a.e.

:

acorn: akern, OE aecern, var aecren, akin akarn, forest-tree fruit, and Go akran, fruit, prob from Go akrs, a field, akin to L