Word
|
Derivation |
Link |
A.D., B.C. |
LATIN, Anno Domini; ENGLISH, Before Christ |
|
| abracadabra |
ARAMAIC,
avrah + kadabra (I will create as I speak) |
|
| ain't |
ENGLISH,
from an’t, “am not” |
|
| AM,
PM |
LATIN,
ante meridiem, post meridiem |
|
| Androgynous |
GREEK,
andros + gyne (man + woman) |
|
| ballot |
ITALIAN,
pallotte (little ball) |
|
| callipygian |
GREEK,
kallos + pyge (beauty + buttocks) |
|
| cannibal |
SPANISH,
from Caniba, name of Caribbean islanders |
|
| christ |
OLD
ENGLISH, from LATIN Christus |
|
| donnybrook |
from
Donnybrook Fair, annual fair held in Dublin until 1855 |
|
| eavesdropper |
MIDDLE
ENGLISH, evesdrop |
|
| encyclical |
GREEK,
enkyklios (in a circle) |
|
| encyclopedia |
GREEK,
enkyklios + paideia (id + rearing of children) |
|
| feuilleton |
FRENCH,
feuille (leaflet) |
|
| gargantuan |
SPANISH, garganta (throat) |
|
| gorgeous |
MIDDLE
FRENCH, gorgias (wimple, a medieval headdress) |
|
| Gretna Green |
from
Scottish town of the same name |
|
| hamburger |
GERMAN,
“Hamburger steak” |
|
| hocus
Pocus |
LATIN,
corrupted from hoc est corpus |
|
| holiday |
OLD
ENGLISH, halig + dæg (holy day) |
|
| jeepers
creepers |
ENGLISH,
euphemism for Jesus Christ |
|
| kamikaze |
JAPANESE,
kami + kaze (divine wind) |
|
| lesbian |
GREEK,
Lesbios (of Lesbos, a Greek island) |
|
| libidinous |
LATIN,
libidinosus (full of desire) |
|
| mausoleum |
GREEK,
mausoleion, from Mausolus, Turk ruler |
|
| mentor |
GREEK, from Mentor, character in The Odyssey |
|
| messiah |
LATIN,
from HEBREW mashiah (anointed) |
|
| misandry |
GREEK,
misos + andros (hatred + man) |
|
| misogynist |
GREEK,
misos + gyne (hate + woman) |
|
| ounce |
LATIN,
uncia (a twelfth part) |
|
| piano |
ITALIAN,
piano e forte (loud and soft) |
|
| polygamy |
GREEK,
poly + gamos (many + marriage) |
|
| potpourri |
FRENCH,
pot + pourri (rotted pot) |
|
| psephology |
GREEK,
psephos + logy (study of pebbles) |
|
| radical |
LATIN,
radicalis (of or having roots) |
|
| sapphic |
GREEK,
from the lyrical poetess Sappho |
|
| smorgasbord |
SWEDISH,
smörgåsbord (bread and butter table) |
|
| taxi |
LATIN,
tax (tax) + GREEK meter (measuring device) |
|
| turkey |
ENGLISH,
from fact that turkeys were imported fr. Turkey |
|
| werewolf |
OLD
ENGLISH, wer + wulf (male person + wolf) |
|
| yule |
OLD
ENGLISH, geol, perhaps from Old Norse hjól
(wheel) |
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