Illustrated Etymology

Pedigree

early 15c., "genealogical table or chart," from Anglo-Fr. pe de gru, a variant of O.Fr. pied de gru "foot of a crane," from L. pedem acc. of pes "foot" + gruem...

Salary

mid-14c., "compensation, payment," whether periodical, for regular service or for a specific service; from Anglo-Fr. salarie (late 13c.), O.Fr. salarie, from L....

Will Bryant

Kid

c.1200, "the young of a goat," from a Scandinavian source (cf. O.N. kið "young goat"), from P.Gmc. *kiðjom (cf. O.H.G. kizzi, Ger. kitze, Dan., Swed. kid)....

Lloyd Eugene Winter IV

Hack

"to cut roughly, cut with chopping blows," c.1200, from verb found in stem of O.E. tohaccian "hack to pieces," from W.Gmc. *hakkon (cf. O.Fris. hackia "to chop or...

Levi McGranahan

Sycophant

1530s (in L. form sycophanta), "informer, talebearer, slanderer," from L. sycophanta, from Gk. sykophantes, originally "one who shows the fig," from sykon "fig" +...

Adam R Garcia

Pumpernickel

1663, originally an abusive nickname for a stupid person, from pumpern "to break wind" + Nickel "goblin, lout, rascal," from proper name Niklaus. An earlier Ger....

Jamie Stolarski

Berserk

1844, from berserk (n.) "Norse warrior," by 1835, an alternative form of berserker (1822), a word which was introduced by Sir Walter Scott, from O.N. berserkr...

Adam R Garcia

Lightning

late 13c., prp. of lightnen "make bright," extended form of O.E. lihting, from leht. Meaning "cheap, raw whiskey" is attested from 1781. Illustration by Stewart...

Stewart Scott-Curran

Window

early 13c., lit. "wind eye," from O.N. vindauga, from vindr "wind" + auga "eye." Replaced O.E. eagþyrl, lit. "eye-hole," and eagduru, lit. "eye-door."...

Dan Cassaro

Decimation

mid-15c., from L.L. decimationem (nom. decimatio), from decimat-, pp. stem of L. decimare "the removal or destruction of one-tenth," from decem "ten." Earliest...

Evan Stremke

Distill

distill, also distil, late 14c., from O.Fr. distiller (14c.), from L. distillare "trickle down in minute drops," from dis- "apart" + stillare "to drip, drop,"...

Dylan Lathrop

Cataract

early 15c., from L. cataracta "waterfall," from Gk. katarhaktes "waterfall, broken water; swooping, rushing down; portcullis," noun use of adj. from kata "down" +...

Adam R Garcia

Extortion

c.1300, from L. extortionem (nom. extortio) "a twisting out, extorting," noun of action from pp. stem of extorquere "wrench out, wrest away, to obtain by force,"...

Micah Lidberg

Juggernaut

1630s, "huge wagon bearing an image of the god Krishna," especially that at the town of Puri, drawn annually in procession in which (apocryphally) devotees...

Darcel Dissappoints

Marsupial

1690s, from Mod.L. marsupialis "having a pouch," coined from L.L. marsupium "pouch, purse," L. marsuppium, from Gk. marsipion, dim. of marsipos "pouch" ...

Margherita Urbani

Recluse

early 13c., "person shut up from the world for purposes of religious meditation," from O.Fr. reclus (fem. recluse), noun use of reclus (adj.) "shut up," from L.L....

Tim Lahan

Quiff

"curl or lock of hair over the forehead," 1890, originally a style among soldiers, of unknown origin. Perhaps connected with quiff "a puff or whiff of tobacco...

James Clapham

Glitch

1962, Amer.Eng., possibly from Yiddish glitsh "a slip," from glitshn "to slip," from Ger. glitschen, and related gleiten "to glide". Perhaps directly from German;...

Frank Chimero

Cacophony

1650s, from Gk. kakophonia, from kakophonos "harsh sounding," from kakos "bad, evil" (caco-) + phone "voice". Illustration by Colin Strandberg.

Colin Strandberg

Iris

late 14c., flowering plant (Iris germanica), also "prismatic rock crystal," from L. iris (pl. irides) "iris of the eye, iris plant, rainbow," from Gk. iris (gen....

Daniel Dickson

Kamikaze

"suicide flier," 1945, Japanese, lit. "divine wind," from kami "god, providence, divine" + kaze "wind." Originally the name given in folklore to a typhoon which...

Jack Teagle

Zephyr

mid-14c., from O.E. Zefferus, from L. Zephyrus, from Gk. Zephyros "the west wind" (sometimes personified as a god), probably related to zophos "the west, the dark...

Ulana Zahajkewycz