Complete origin of the word

• Dictionary
• C
• Complete

Definitions of complete word

• adjective complete You use complete to emphasize that something is as great in extent, degree, or amount as it possibly can be. 3
• adjective complete You can use complete to emphasize that you are referring to the whole of something and not just part of it. 3
• adjective complete If something is complete, it contains all the parts that it should contain. 3
• verb complete To complete a set or group means to provide the last item that is needed to make it a full set or group. 3
• adjective complete The complete works of a writer are all their books or poems published together in one book or as a set of books. 3
• adjective complete If something is complete, it has been finished. 3

Information block about the term

Origin of complete

First appearance:

before 1325

One of the 16% oldest English words

1325-75; Middle English (< Middle French) < Latin complētus (past participle of complēre to fill up, fulfill, equivalent to com- com- + plē- fill + -tus past participle suffix

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Complete

complete popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 95% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between «mom» and «screwdriver».

Synonyms for complete

adj complete

• full — completely filled; containing all that can be held; filled to utmost capacity: a full cup.
• outright — complete or total: an outright loss.
• thorough — executed without negligence or omissions: a thorough search.
• gross — without deductions; total, as the amount of sales, salary, profit, etc., before taking deductions for expenses, taxes, or the like (opposed to net2. ): gross earnings; gross sales.
• integrated — combining or coordinating separate elements so as to provide a harmonious, interrelated whole: an integrated plot; an integrated course of study.

adjective complete

• completed — having all parts or elements; lacking nothing; whole; entire; full: a complete set of Mark Twain’s writings.
• fulfilled — to carry out, or bring to realization, as a prophecy or promise.
• achieved — Reach or attain (a desired objective, level, or result) by effort, skill, or courage.
• compassed — Simple past tense and past participle of compass.
• realised — to grasp or understand clearly.

verb complete

• finish — to bring (something) to an end or to completion; complete: to finish a novel; to finish breakfast.
• finalize — to put into final form; complete all the details of.
• finalise — to put into final form; complete all the details of.
• conclude — If you conclude that something is true, you decide that it is true using the facts you know as a basis.
• accomplish — If you accomplish something, you succeed in doing it.

noun complete

• full monty — the, the whole thing; everything that is wanted or needed: At the press briefing, the reporters got the full monty.

Antonyms for complete

adj complete

• incomplete — not complete; lacking some part.
• defective — If something is defective, there is something wrong with it and it does not work properly.
• deficient — If someone or something is deficient in a particular thing, they do not have the full amount of it that they need in order to function normally or work properly.
• imperfect — not perfect; lacking completeness: imperfect knowledge.
• lacking — being without; not having; wanting; less: Lacking equipment, the laboratory couldn’t undertake the research project.

verb complete

• start — to begin or set out, as on a journey or activity.
• abandon — If you abandon a place, thing, or person, you leave the place, thing, or person permanently or for a long time, especially when you should not do so.
• bear — If you bear something somewhere, you carry it there or take it there.
• begin — To begin to do something means to start doing it.
• commence — When something commences or you commence it, it begins.

Top questions with complete

• how to complete the square?
• what is complete blood count?
• what is a complete predicate?
• what is a complete subject?
• what is a complete blood count?
• what is a complete protein?
• how do you complete the square?
• how to complete a rubix cube?
• how to complete a rubik’s cube?
• what is a complete sentence?
• what does a complete blood count test for?
• when is speciation complete?
• how to complete?
• after complete reaction how many molecules of ammonia are produced?
• how to complete rubik’s cube?

See also

• All definitions of complete
• Synonyms for complete
• Antonyms for complete
• Related words to complete
• Sentences with the word complete
• Words that rhyme with complete
• complete pronunciation
• The plural of complete
• The adjective of complete
• The past tense of complete

Matching words

• Words starting with c
• Words starting with co
• Words starting with com
• Words starting with comp
• Words starting with compl
• Words starting with comple
• Words starting with complet
• Words starting with complete

• Words ending with e
• Words ending with te
• Words ending with ete
• Words ending with lete

• Words containing the letters c
• Words containing the letters c,o
• Words containing the letters c,o,m
• Words containing the letters c,o,m,p
• Words containing the letters c,o,m,p,l
• Words containing the letters c,o,m,p,l,e

• Words containing c
• Words containing co
• Words containing com
• Words containing comp
• Words containing compl
• Words containing comple

We use different languages worldwide to communicate with each other. Every so often we wonder where a word came from. How did a particular word start being used as a common word worldwide and where did it actually originate from. So to find this out we will explore the world of languages and origin of words in this article. This article will cover websites which will let you know the origin of a word.

The study of origin of a word is known as Etymology. You will find that often there are popular tales behind the origin of a word. Most of these tales are just tales and not true, but knowing how the word came into being is equally interesting. So let’s look at these websites to know the origin of words below.

Online Etymology Dictionary

Online etymology dictionary explains you the origin of words and what they meant along with how they would have sounded years back. You would see a date beside each word. This date represents the earliest evidence of this word being used in some sort of written manuscript. Now you can either search for a word you are looking for by typing it in the search box given at the top of the page, otherwise you can browse the words alphabetically. The website has a huge collection of words in it. You can go through the words and find out there origins and meanings as well.

Word Origins by English Oxford Living Dictionaries

Word Origins by English Oxford Living Dictionaries is a good website to know about a words origin. You can check out origin of a word or a phrase. You can search for the word or a phrase you are looking for or can even browse the page to know origin of different words. The website apart from this has a dictionary, thesaurus, grammar helper, etc. As this app has a dictionary, it proves to be a good source for knowing the origin of a word. You can see trending words when you scroll down the page. You can also subscribe to the newsletter on this website to receive updates regarding new words, phrases, etc.

Wordorigins.org

The website Wordorigins.org will let you know the origin of words and phrases. The website has a big list of words which you can go through, or even search for a particular word that you are looking for. The website also has a blog and discussion forum where people can discuss there views. You can login and become a member of the website so you receive regular updates from the website. You can either start browsing words by going to the big list words tab, or by searching for a word. The big list of words is in alphabetical order and there are about 400 words in here. Each word has a interesting story or folklore related to it.

Words of the World

Words of the World is a website which lets you watch videos to let you know the origin of a word. The website explains which language a word originated from through a video. The home page of the website will have a list of words for which you can see a video explaining how the word originated. The words on the home page are given in the format as shown in the screenshot above, but they can also be turned into a neat list if you like. The website is supported by the University of Nottingham and thus is a trusted source.

Learning Nerd

Learning Nerd is another website which has a section on English etymology resources. The website lists references to origin of words like there are word origin dictionaries listed, words with Greek and Latin roots are under a different category, words originating from around the world can be found under international words, and then there is a section for miscellaneous words. You can also play etymology quizzes and listen to etymology podcasts as well. The website itself doesn’t have much information about word origins but will redirect you to another website for your word needs.

Learn That Word

Learn That Word is another website which lists root words and prefixes. The website is pretty basic and a list of words can be seen right on the first page. The words are listed alphabetically, so you can even jump to a word that you are looking for easily. The website will list the root word, its meaning, its place of origin, and then definition and examples. This can be seen in the screenshot above.

These are the websites I found which let you know the origin of a word. Go through them and let me know which one you liked most. If you think there is a website which could be included in this article then leave a comment below.

The etymology of a word refers to its origin and historical development: that is, its earliest known use, its transmission from one language to another, and its changes in form and meaning. Etymology is also the term for the branch of linguistics that studies word histories.

What’s the Difference Between a Definition and an Etymology?

A definition tells us what a word means and how it’s used in our own time. An etymology tells us where a word came from (often, but not always, from another language) and what it used to mean.

For example, according to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the definition of the word disaster is «an occurrence causing widespread destruction and distress; a catastrophe» or «a grave misfortune.» But the etymology of the word disaster takes us back to a time when people commonly blamed great misfortunes on the influence of the stars.

Disaster first appeared in English in the late 16th century, just in time for Shakespeare to use the word in the play King Lear. It arrived by way of the Old Italian word disastro, which meant «unfavorable to one’s stars.»

This older, astrological sense of disaster becomes easier to understand when we study its Latin root word, astrum, which also appears in our modern «star» word astronomy. With the negative Latin prefix dis- («apart») added to astrum («star»), the word (in Latin, Old Italian, and Middle French) conveyed the idea that a catastrophe could be traced to the «evil influence of a star or planet» (a definition that the dictionary tells us is now «obsolete»).

Is the Etymology of a Word Its True Definition?

Not at all, though people sometimes try to make this argument. The word etymology is derived from the Greek word etymon, which means «the true sense of a word.» But in fact the original meaning of a word is often different from its contemporary definition.

The meanings of many words have changed over time, and older senses of a word may grow uncommon or disappear entirely from everyday use. Disaster, for instance, no longer means the «evil influence of a star or planet,» just as consider no longer means «to observe the stars.»

Let’s look at another example. Our English word salary is defined by The American Heritage Dictionary as «fixed compensation for services, paid to a person on a regular basis.» Its etymology can be traced back 2,000 years to sal, the Latin word for salt. So what’s the connection between salt and salary?

The Roman historian Pliny the Elder tells us that «in Rome, a soldier was paid in salt,» which back then was widely used as a food preservative. Eventually, this salarium came to signify a stipend paid in any form, usually money. Even today the expression «worth your salt» indicates that you’re working hard and earning your salary. However, this doesn’t mean that salt is the true definition of salary.

Where Do Words Come From?

New words have entered (and continue to enter) the English language in many different ways. Here are some of the most common methods.

• Borrowing
  The majority of the words used in modern English have been borrowed from other languages. Although most of our vocabulary comes from Latin and Greek (often by way of other European languages), English has borrowed words from more than 300 different languages around the world. Here are just a few examples:
  futon (from the Japanese word for «bedclothes, bedding»)
• hamster (Middle High German hamastra)
• kangaroo (Aboriginal language of Guugu Yimidhirr, gangurru , referring to a species of kangaroo)
• kink (Dutch, «twist in a rope»)
• moccasin (Native American Indian, Virginia Algonquian, akin to Powhatan mäkäsn and Ojibwa makisin)
• molasses (Portuguese melaços, from Late Latin mellceum, from Latin mel, «honey»)
• muscle (Latin musculus, «mouse»)
• slogan (alteration of Scots slogorne, «battle cry»)
• smorgasbord (Swedish, literally «bread and butter table»)
• whiskey (Old Irish uisce, «water,» and bethad, «of life»)
• Clipping or Shortening
  Some new words are simply shortened forms of existing words, for instance indie from independent; exam from examination; flu from influenza, and fax from facsimile.
• Compounding
  A new word may also be created by combining two or more existing words: fire engine, for example, and babysitter.
• Blends
  A blend, also called a portmanteau word, is a word formed by merging the sounds and meanings of two or more other words. Examples include moped, from mo(tor) + ped(al), and brunch, from br(eakfast) + (l)unch.
• Conversion or Functional Shift
  New words are often formed by changing an existing word from one part of speech to another. For example, innovations in technology have encouraged the transformation of the nouns network, Google, and microwave into verbs.
• Transfer of Proper Nouns
  Sometimes the names of people, places, and things become generalized vocabulary words. For instance, the noun maverick was derived from the name of an American cattleman, Samuel Augustus Maverick. The saxophone was named after Sax, the surname of a 19th-century Belgian family that made musical instruments.
• Neologisms or Creative Coinages
  Now and then, new products or processes inspire the creation of entirely new words. Such neologisms are usually short lived, never even making it into a dictionary. Nevertheless, some have endured, for example quark (coined by novelist James Joyce), galumph (Lewis Carroll), aspirin (originally a trademark), grok (Robert A. Heinlein).
• Imitation of Sounds
  Words are also created by onomatopoeia, naming things by imitating the sounds that are associated with them: boo, bow-wow, tinkle, click.

Why Should We Care About Word Histories?

If a word’s etymology is not the same as its definition, why should we care at all about word histories? Well, for one thing, understanding how words have developed can teach us a great deal about our cultural history. In addition, studying the histories of familiar words can help us deduce the meanings of unfamiliar words, thereby enriching our vocabularies. Finally, word stories are often both entertaining and thought provoking. In short, as any youngster can tell you, words are fun.

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A

ACCESS — developed, along with other words, from the
Latin «cede» which means to «yield,» «move» or «withdraw.» If you
access a room or a file it means that entry to the room as been yielded.

ACCORD — comes from a Latin term which refers to the heart. If two people are in accord, their hearts are in agreement.

ACE
— gets its name from a ancient Roman coin called the «as.» In Latin
«as» also meant «one» or «unity» and so it entered English as the «score
of one at dice.»

ADD — comes from the Latin
«addo.» «Ad» is «to» and «do» means «put» so we put together things.
The use of the word «add» in its math sense did not start until the
early 16th century.

ALLEY — like many words
connected with roads, came from an action word. In this case, it comes
from the French word meaning «to go.»

APE — was the only English word for non-human primates until the early 16th century when the word «monkey» was added. It then began to take on its current more restricted meaning.

AUGUST
— is named after Octavian Caesar, nephew of Julius Caesar. He is
better known as Augustus — the official title given him by the Senate.
Although Augustus was born in September, he selected the month we call
August because it was when his career had been successful.

AX
— is spelled as «axe» by the British although it is spelled without the
«e» by the Americans. The spelling with the «e» first appeared in the
late 14th century.

B

BEND — appears at first to refer to tying especially
to pulling bow-strings tight causing the tension on the bow. This,
naturally, made the bow curve and the late 13th century «bend» came to
refer more to «curve» than to «tie.»

BERRY —
originally referred only to grapes. It was used that way in an AD 1000
translation of Deuteronomy 23:24 in the Bible which read, «If you go
into your friend’s vineyard, eat the berries.» Later it came to have the wider meaning that we have today.

BICYCLE
— means «two-wheeled» and the word came to English from French. The
first English use was in the Sept. 7, 1868 edition of the Daily News. Until the introduction of air-filled tires in 1880s, bicycles were also nicknamed «bone-shakers.»

BLAME
— and «blaspheme» both originally come from the same Greek word meaning
«to say disrespectful things about.» Blame has changed to mean more
«accuse» or «reproach» while «blaspheme» retains more of its original
meaning.

BOUGH — is an old word which is found in
many Indo-European languages. Only in English has it come to mean
«branch.» In most other languages it relates more to things like arm,
forearm, or shoulder.

BRAVE — is only of those
words which has almost totally changed meaning. Today it means
«courageous» but it comes from a Latin word which means «uncivilized,
savage, wild.»

BUT — originally meant «outside.» However, in Old English it quickly came to mean «without» or «except.»

C

CAB — is a short from of «cabriolet.» The Italians
used the word «capriolare» to mean «jump in the air.» Since the
suspension of the light horse-drawn carriages was so springy that it
made it look like it was jumping up and down, the French borrowed the
word [first as a verb] making it «cabriolet» and applying it to the carriage itself.

CANDY
— comes from the Sanskrit word «khanda.» It meant «a piece of
something.» Before Sugar Candy was shortened to just candy, it mean a
piece or lump of sugar.

CHRYSANTHEMUM — comes from a Greek word which means «gold flower.»

CLAM — was first named in Scotland in the 16th century probably because its two shells closed like a clamp.

CLASS
— comes from the Latin «classes» which originally meant simply the
Roman army. A 6th century BC Roman king, Servius Tullius, divided the
army into six classes based on the amount of land a person had. Later
it was based on their monetary wealth. This developed into our ideas of
social class.

COBWEB — used to be spelled «coppeweb» because «coppe» was the word for spider.

COCONUT
— was named by Spanish and Portuguese explorers who thought the three
holes made it look like a human face. «Coco» means grinning face. The
English made it «coconut» in 1613 [first recorded usage].

CODE
— used to mean «a system of laws» and it is still used in that way. In
the early 19th century the meaning of «a secret message» was added.

COFFEE
— was discovered about the year 850 by a goatheader named Kaldi. He
noticed this goats acting strangely and then saw it was because they
were eating certain berries. He tried them himself and was exciting by
the effect it had on him. It did not take the Arabs long to figure out
how to dry and boil the berries in what they called «qahwe.» Turkey
used this brew and it travelled to France to give her «cafe» from which
our word «coffee» comes.

COLONEL — began from the
Latin «columna» which meant «pilliar.» From there it went to «colonna»
which is a «column,» which then became «colonello» who was the chief
commander of a regiment [i.e a column of troops]. Now you know why
«colonel» is not spelled «kernel.»

CRAZY — in the
16th century meant «full of cracks.» Writers of that time would write
things like, «a crazy pitcher unable to hold water» and » a crazy ship
about to sink.»

CREDIT — comes from the Latin «credo» which means «I believe.» When you have good credit people believe in you.

D

DAFT — originally meant «mild» or «gentle.» In late Middle English it developed it current meaning of «stupid» or «dumb.»

DATE — as in the fruit, comes from the Latin word for «finger» because dates
look like small fingers. The date palm is common in the Mediterranean
area and was introduced into Mexico and other places in the Americas in
the 18th century by Spanish missionaries.

DAY — has as its main idea «burning heat.» It comes from the same root as the Sanskrit word «dah» which means «burn.»

DICE
— is a game almost as old as time. Our word comes from a Latin word
which means «given» in the sense of being thrown. Cheating at dice is
nothing new and even today we find hundreds of «loaded» dice in Roman
ruins.

DINOSAUR — means «terrible lizard»
although they are not closely related to lizards. The term was first
used around 1840, which is why ancient writings never use the word
«dinosaur.» It is possible that words like «monster» or «dragon» were
used in older writings to mean dinosaur. The Book of Job in the Bible may have two descriptions of dinosaurs.

DOFF — comes from the informal expression «do off,» so to doff one’s hat is to take it off or tip it for a lady.

DOLL — is a short form of Dorothy. In the 18th century to came to refer to a toy baby.

DOME — was originally a house from the Latin «domus» which also gives us «domestic.»

DOT
— was only used in writing one time in Old English as far as is known.
It disappeared completely from written texts between 11th and 16th
centuries and then reappeared meaning » a small lump.» It took on its
modern meaning in the 17th century.

DUKE — is a title that was brought by the Normans to England and comes from a Latin word meaning «leader.»

DUN — although dun is a greyish brown colour, it can also refer to a debt-collector.
In this case it is a short form of the word «dunkirk» which was used
in the 17th century to refer to privateers who attacked enemy shipping.
They were «dunkirks» in the beginning because they sailed from the port
of Dunkirk in France to attack British shipping. From this idea of
piracy then developed the thought of the unwanted debt collector.

DWELL
— has changed meanings dramatically. It began by meaning «confuse» or
«lead astray.» Then it developed into the idea of «hinder» or «delay.»
From that came the idea of lingering somewhere, which is now, of
course, our living somewhere.

DYE — until the
19th century was commonly spelled «die.» This led to confusion into to
which of the two meaning of «die» was being used. In the 19th century
the spelling of «dye» became popular and the confusion disappeared.

E

ECHO — may have developed from the Greek
personification of «sound.» This developed into the mythological
mountain nymph called Echo. She was said to have faded away for love
until only her voice was left.

ELF — Elves were
originally in legends as powerful, magical beings who could greatly help
or hurt human beings. The modern idea which limits them to small,
mischievous beings probably began in the 16th century.

F

FALL — in the sense of autumn, is used only in American English and came from the phrase «fall of the leaf.»

FAME
— come from the Latin word for «report» and means what people say about
you. A reputation is longer lasting because it means what people think
about you.

FAN — as in hockey fan or the fan of a movie star is just the short form of the word «fanatic.»

FATE
— is the ruling power in all ancient pagan religions. It means that
the gods have spoken and it must be so regardless of the will of man.

FAZE — is an old used used before Anglo-Saxon times but is now used mainly in American English.

FINE — comes from the Old French «fin» which means «end.» For example, paying a fine is the end of the matter.

FLAT — is also the British word for «apartment.»

FLEET
— comes from an Old English word meaning «it floats.» For example, a
fleet of ships or a fleeting glance is something that «floats» by.
London, England’s famous «Fleet Street» received its name from the
stream floats beneath it into the Thames.

FOND —
originally meant «foolish» and the current meaning probably developed in
the 16th century from the idea of foolishly showing excessive love or
liking.

FREEDOM — came to Old English through an Old Norse term which meant «love and peace.»

FUN — began by meaning «a trick, hoax, or practical joke.» In the 18th century it took on its present idea of «amusement.»

G

GHOST — in Old English it simply meant a «spirit» or
«soul.» It was not until the 14th century that it came to mean the
«spirit of a dead person.» The spelling with the «h» appeared in the
15th century and may have been inspired by the Flemish «gheest.»

GIRAFFE — was originally called a «camelopard» because people thought it looked like a mixture of a camel and a leopard.

GOLF
— may have been invented in Holland although that in not certain. It
was soon a popular game in Scotland. King James I outlawed it because
men were preferring it over archery — which was an important skill in
war. Mary, Queen of Scots, like golf so much that she was seen playing a
few rounds several days after the murder of her husband.

GRAPE
— as a word came into England with William of Normandy in the 11th
century. It replaced the English word «winberige.» Grape originally
mean the vine hook used to gather the grapes, which is also where the
word «grapple» comes from.

GYP — means «cheat.»
In the 1400’s a group of brown-skinned people appeared in Europe. They
had no jobs, homes, or recognizable religion. They earned their living
by crafty trading. Some people began to call them Egyptians, but that
was changed to Gypsies from which our word «gyp» comes.

H

HOTEL — and «hospital» both come from the same Latin
word meaning «where guests are received,» in Old French the different
words with different meaning began to develop and then were taken into
English.

HULL — originally had the idea of
«covering» or «concealing» and meant peapod — the pod covers the peas.
In the 15th century it came to refer to the main part of a ship perhaps
because it looks like an open peapod.

HYENA — comes from the Greek language and originally meant, «like a hog.»

I

IF — in Old English was spelled «gif» and pronounced «yif.»

INVESTIGATE — originally meant «looking for footprints.» It comes from the Latin «in» [in] and «vestigo» [follow a footprint].

J

JAY — refers first to a specific bird, but in the
USA it was used in slang to refer to a foolish person. So a «jaywalker»
is a person who foolishly [or illegally] crosses a road.

JAZZ — it is uncertain where this word came from, perhaps a West African nation. Its first recorded use was in 1909.

K

KEEP — not much is known about the origins of this word, but it began to appear in writing around the year 1000.

L

LACE — at first meant a snare. It then developed
into cords that hold things together by being tied, like shoe laces.
Finally, it came to mean the material we call «lace» today.

LAD
— first meant a male low on the social ladder — a servant — but by the
14th century it was in the process of just meaning «a young man.»

LIEUTENANT
— comes from two French words «lieu» [in place] and «tenant» [holding].
Originally a Lieutenant was holding the place of another officer.

M

MAY — is believed to be named after the mother of
the god Hermes, Maia. The Romans considered it unlucky to be married in
the month of May because of two celebrations which happened in the
month: the feast of Bona Dea who was the goddess of chastity and the
festival of the unhappy dead.

MILE — comes from a
Latin word meaning «a thousand.» The Roman mile was the length of a
thousand paces which is about 100 yards shorter than the English mile.

MITTEN — literally means «half a glove» coming ultimately from a Latin word which means «cut off in the middle.»

MOB
— comes from the Latin «mobile vulgus» which means «fickle crowd.» It
was shortened to «mobile» and then at the beginning of the 18th Century
shortened again to «mob.»

MOLE — as a «traitor
working undercover» was beginning to be used in the 17th century but was
not made popular until the British espionage writer, John le Carre,
used it in his books.

MOP — probably comes from
the Latin word «mappa» meaning cloth. Over 200 years ago in England
house-hold servants who needed jobs would form an annual parade [called a
mop fair] walking through the streets carrying mops as a symbol of
their trade. English housewives would look them over and then hire the
ones they wanted.

MUSIC — comes from the Greek «mousike» which meant «belonging to the Muses» who were the Greek goddess of culture.

MUTT — is a short form of «mutton-head» [a dumb person] even through we now apply it to dogs.

N

NEIGHBOR — is «your friend on the next farm.» It comes from an Old English word which meant «near-by farmer.»

NOON — received its name originally by being the ninth hour of the day.

NUN
— has gone through many changes in its history, but it traces back to
the Late Latin word «nonna» which meant «a child’s nurse.»

NYLON
— was first used in 1928 when its inventors made up the word using the
element «on» [as in cotton] and added a random syllable «nyl.»

O

ODD — meant «one left over from two» or «not
divisible by two» when English borrowed it from Old Norse. The modern
meaning [as in «strange» or «the odd one out»] did not develop until the
late 16th century.

OX — was the name used by the
Saxons, but by the time it ended up on the table of the conquering
Normans it was called by the fancy name which came from the French
language: Beef.

OYSTER — comes from a Greek word meaning «hard shell.»

P

PAIN — was originally connected with punishment as in «on pain of death.» Only later did it come to mean suffering in general.

PEN
— comes from the Latin «penna» meaning feather. Originally pens were
made from feathers. «Penna» became the Old French «penne» and then the
English «pen.»

PINE CONES — were originally
called pineapples but in the mid-17th century it came to refer to the
tropical fruit which we know by that name today.

PLOT
— has two different origins based on two different meanings. The first
is the Old English «plot» which was «an area of ground» which then
developed the meaning of «ground plan» or «diagram» which in turn [in
the 17th century] led to the «events in a story.» The second meaning
comes from the Old French «complot» which was a «secret scheme.» The
«com» was soon dropped in English leaving it as «plot» as well.

POPE
— comes from the Greek work «papas» which is the child’s name for
«father.» It developed into the Latin «papa» which in the 5th century
onwards was applied to the bishop of Rome — the leader, «father,» of the
Rome Catholic Church.

PUPPY — was originally a toy dog, but towards the end of the 16th century it came to mean a young dog.

PYRAMIDs
— were the tombs of the ancient Pharaohs. They first began to take
their famous shape in 2600 BC. The biggest pyramid was completed about
2580 BC. It is estimated that it took 100,000 men 20 years to build it.
It contains 2,300,000 slabs of granite each with an average weight of 2
1/2 tons.

Q

QUILT — originally meant «mattress» but later
developed to be the covering to lay under. In the med-16th century it
took on the more specific meaning we have today.

QUOTE
— comes from a Latin word meaning «how many.» The Latin verb form,
which meant «number,» was used of the system of marking sections of
manuscripts with numbers as reference points [like chapters and verses
in the Bible]. The English changed it to «quote» and by the 16th
century were using it for citing or referring to the works themselves.

R

RABBIT — replaced the name «cony» in the 18th century.

RAGE
— comes from a Latin word meaning madness and fury. It also gives us
our word «rabies.» In fact, in French the word «rage» means both anger
and rabies.

ROUND — comes to us from Latin, through Old French, to English. The original Latin word simply meant «like a wheel.»

S

SANDWICH — gets its name from John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich
in England in the 18th Century. He was given to vices, one of which was
gambling. During one 24-hour gambling session he refused to stop for
meals, but demanded to be served roast beef placed between two pieces of
bread…and the sandwich was born.

T

TAPER — can trace its beginning back to the Latin
word «papyrus» which meant «wick» because the wicks in ancient days was
made from the pith of the papyrus which grew in Egypt. Taper then came
to be applied to candles which were thinner on one end, i.e. they
tapered off or grew thinner on one end.

TATTOO —
was originally used as a signal on the drums for the closing of the
bars. It came from the Dutch «taptoe» which meant «the tap is closed.»
It was later used in the military to warn the men it was time to go to
quarters. The word «tattoo» as used in the modern reference to skin
markings came from Polynesia through the writings of Captain Cook.

TIRE
— was common in Old English but meant more «come to an end» than
«weary.» It disappeared from English for a while and then returned in
the 14th century.

TOP — comes from a prehistoric Germanic word which appears to have meant the «tuft of hair on the top of the head.»

TRADE — comes from the Old English word «trod» because salesmen in doing their trading had to walk many miles.

TREE — originally referred only to the oak, but later came to be more general in meaning.

TRIBE
— comes from the Latin «tribes» which meant «a division of the Roman
people.» The «tri» [three] part probably referred to the three
beginning tribes of Rome: the Tities, the Ramnes and the Luceres.

TULIPs — look a little like a turban and comes from the Turkish word which means «turban.»

U

USURY — comes from Medieval Latin and meant «use of money lent» i.e.
interest, although the Hebrew word translated «usury» in the Bible does
not refer to interest in general, but to interest taken on loans to poor
Hebrews.

V

VAN — is a shortened version of «caravan.»

VERY
— originally just meant «true.» It did not come to be used in its
modern sense [as in very important] until the 15th century.

VIVID — comes from a Latin word meaning «life.» A vivid description is a description full of life.

VOTE — comes from a Latin word meaning «a vow or wish.»

W

WRITE — first meant «to scratch» as to scratch marks on birch bark or other objects.

X

XENON — comes from the Greek «xenos» meaning «strange.» Sir William
Ramsay, its discoverer, named it in 1898. It was a strange gas.

Y

YES — is probably a combination of the Old English «gea» [yea] and «swa» [so] to mean «be it so.»

Z

ZOOLOGY — is the combination of the Greek «zoion» [animal] and «ology»
[study or science]. Looking at how this word was made we can understand
why the «oo» is not making the Long U 2 sound.

*****
Resource Materials
Dictionary Of Word Origins, John Ayto, Arcade Publishing, 1990
Word Origins And Their Romantic Stories, Wilfred Funk, Litt.D., Grosset & Dunlap, 1950
Words From History, Isaac Asimov, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1968