MarcusBennevall/EtymologyTaggerDataset huggingface dataset:
fathom
From Middle English fathome, fadom, fadme (“unit of length of about six feet; depth of six feet for nautical soundings; (loosely) cubit; ell”) [and other forms], from Old English fæþm, fæþme (“encircling or outstretched arms, bosom, embrace; envelopment; control, grasp, power; fathom (unit of measurement); cubit”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *faþm (“outstretched arms, embrace; fathom (unit of measurement)”), from Proto-Germanic *faþmaz (“outstretched arms, embrace; fathom (unit of measurement)”), from Proto-Indo-European *pet-, *peth₂- (“to spread out; to fly”).
Cognates
* Ancient Greek πέταλος (pétalos, “broad; flat”), πετᾰ́ννῡμῐ (petắnnūmĭ, “to open; to spread out; to be dispersed or scattered”) (whence English petal)
* Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌸𐌰 (faþa, “fench; hedge”)
* Latin pateō (“to extend, increase; to be accessible, attainable, open; to be exposed, vulnerable”)
* Low German fadem, faem (“cubit; thread”)
* Middle Dutch vadem (modern Dutch vaam, vadem (“fathom”))
* Norwegian Bokmål favn (“an embrace; a fathom”)
* Old Frisian fethm (“outstretched arms”)
* Old High German fadam, fadum (“cubit”) (Middle High German vade (“enclosure”), vadem, vaden, modern German Faden (“fathom; filament, thread”))
* Old Norse faþmr (Danish favn (“an embrace; a fathom”), Icelandic faðmur (“an embrace”), Swedish famn (“the arms, bosom; an embrace”))
* Old Welsh etem (“thread”)
in-
PIE word
 *h₁én
From Middle English in-, from Old English in- (“in, into”, prefix), from Proto-Germanic *in, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én. More at in.
From Middle English in-, borrowed (in words of Latinate origin) from Latin in-, from Latin in, from Proto-Indo-European *en (cognate to Germanic in-, above). Often borrowed from French in- (e.g. incise, incite, incline, indication), or as French en-, originally from Latin in.
PIE word
 *né
From Middle English in-, borrowed (in words of latinate origin) from Latin in- (“not”). Sometimes the Latin word has passed through French before reaching English (e.g. incapable, incertainty, inclement, incompatible). Doublet of un-.
motu
From a descendant of Proto-Polynesian *motu.
From Māori motu “land; country, nation” descendant of Proto-Polynesian *motu as above
asperity
From Middle English asprete, asperite, from Old French aspreté (modern French âpreté), from Latin asperitātem, the accusative singular of asperitās (“roughness, unevenness; fierceness, severity; harshness, sharpness; acidity, tartness”), from asper (“coarse, rough, uneven; bitter, fierce harsh; rude, unrefined; etc.”) (probably from Proto-Indo-European *h₂esp- (“to cut”)) + -itās (a variant of -tās (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns indicating a state of being)). The spelling of the English word is influenced directly by Latin asperitātem. Doublet of asperitas.
eremite
Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin, Late Latin eremita, from Ancient Greek ἐρημίτης (erēmítēs), from ἐρῆμος (erêmos, “uninhabited”) + -ίτης (-ítēs). Doublet of hermit.
trial
From Middle English trial, triall, from Anglo-Norman trial, triel, from trier (“to pick out, cull”) + -al. More at English try.
From Latin tri- (stem of trēs (“three”)) + -al, on the pattern of dual.
tuberculosis
To international scientific vocabulary from New Latin tūberculōsis, from Latin tūberculum (diminutive of tūber (“lump”)) + Latin -ōsis (“diseased condition”); by surface analysis, tubercul(um) + -osis; named for the encapsulated colonies of Mycobacterium tuberculosis within the lungs in pulmonary tuberculosis, which can look like small tubers (tubercles) on gross pathology. The disease has existed throughout human experience and had other names for millennia before scientific medicine renamed it with a New Latin term in the mid-19th century (1840s); in English it was called consumption because of the wasting away that consumed health and seemed even to consume flesh in some cases (for example, causing fistulas and tissue breakdown).
hound
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓder.
Proto-Germanic *hundaz
Proto-West Germanic *hund
Old English hund
Middle English hound
English hound
From Middle English hound, from Old English hund, from Proto-West Germanic *hund, from Proto-Germanic *hundaz. Doublet of canine.
Cognate with Dutch hond (“dog”), German Hund (“dog”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish hund (“dog”), Faroese and Icelandic hundur (“dog”).
In 14th-century England, hound was the general word for all domestic canines, and dog referred to a subtype resembling the modern mastiff and bulldog (much as the distinction between Hund and Dogge in contemporary German). By the 16th century, dog had become the general word, and hound had begun to refer only to breeds used for hunting.
From Middle English hounden, from the noun (see above).
From Middle English hownde, hount, houn, probably from Old Norse húnn, from Proto-Germanic *hūnaz.
lathe
From Middle English lathen, from Old English laþian (“to invite, summon, call upon, ask”), from Proto-West Germanic *laþōn, from Proto-Germanic *laþōną (“to invite”), from Proto-Indo-European *lēy- (“to want, desire”). Cognate with German laden (“to invite”), Icelandic laða (“to attract”).
From Middle English *lath, leth, from Old English lǣþ (“a division of a county containing several hundreds, a district, lathe”), from Proto-West Germanic *lāþ.
From Middle English lathe (“turning-lathe; stand”), from Old Norse hlað (“pile, heap”)—compare dialectal Danish lad (“stand, support frame”) (as in drejelad (“turning-lathe”), savelad (“saw bench”)), dialectal Norwegian la, lad (“pile, small wall”), dialectal Swedish lad (“folding table, lay of a loom”)—from hlaða (“to load”). More at lade.
turn out
From Middle English turnen out, tornen out, equivalent to turn + out.
The slang and prison terms meaning "to turn into a prostitute, etc." are probably an ellipsis for turn (inside) out (“to flip someone's character or role”).
garlic
Inherited from Middle English garlek, garlik, from Old English gārlēac (“garlic”, literally “spear-leek”), from gār ("spear"; in reference to its sharp, tapering leaves) + lēac (“leek”). Cognate with Scots garlic (“garlic”), Faroese geirleykur (“garlic”), Icelandic geirlaukur (“garlic”).
zany
From Middle French zani, zanni, from Italian zanni (“a kind of masked clown character”), from Zanni, a Venetian form of Giovanni. Doublet of Zanni, John, and Giovanni.
tern
Via an East Anglian dialect, from some Scandinavian (North Germanic) language, related to Danish terne, Norwegian terne, and Swedish tärna, all from Old Norse þerna (“tern; maidservant”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *þewernā (“handmaid, young girl”). First attested in the 1670s.
PIE word
 *tréyes
The noun is derived from Late Middle English terne (“throw of a die or dice showing the number three”), from Old French terne (“gathering of three people; trinity”) (modern French terne), from Latin ternās, the accusative feminine plural of ternī (“three each; three at a time”), from ter (“thrice”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes (“three”)) + -ī (from -us (suffix forming adjectives)).
The adjective is either derived from the noun, or directly from Latin ternī (“three each; three at a time”); see above.
gung ho
From a catachresis of Mandarin 工合 (gōnghé), an acronym for 工業合作社 /工业合作社 (gōngyè hézuòshè, “[Chinese] Industrial Cooperative Society”), as 工 (gōng, “work”) + 合 (“together”), literally “to work together”. The interpretation "work together" was created by U.S. Marine Evans Carlson, who was posted in China during the 1930s. It became the motto and nickname of the enthusiastic battalion Carlson commanded, leading to other marines adopting the term to mean "overly enthusiastic". It was popularized in the United States by the war film Gung Ho! (1943), which profiled the battalion's leadership of the Raid on Makin Island during World War II.
banjo
From the pronunciation of African slaves, of unknown ultimate origin. Possibly a corruption of bandore (from Spanish bandurria), alternatively from a West African language such as Mandinka banjul, or Kimbundu mbanza.
standpoint
From stand + point, a calque of German Standpunkt. Similar constructions used in other languages, such as Japanese 立場 (tachiba, literally “standing place”).
stand up
From Middle English standen up, from Old English standan up; equivalent to stand + up. Compare Old Norse standa upp.
slowly
From Middle English slowly, slowli, slouli, slowliche, from Old English slāwlīċe (“slowly; sluggishly”), equivalent to slow + -ly. Compare Old Norse slæliga, sljóliga.
caliph
From Middle English calife, caliphe, from Old French caliphe, from Medieval Latin calipha, from Arabic خَلِيفَة (ḵalīfa, “caliph”) and خَلِيف (ḵalīf, “successor”).
fatwa
The noun is borrowed from Arabic فَتْوَى (fatwā, “formal legal opinion”), the verbal noun of أَفْتَى (ʔaftā, “to deliver a formal opinion”) (whence مُفْتٍ (muftin, “mufti”), the active participle of the same verb: see mufti).
The forms fetwa, fetwah are derived from Italian fetfà (obsolete), and directly from its etymon Ottoman Turkish فتوی (fetva) (modern Turkish fetva), from Arabic فَتْوَى (fatwā): see above.
Modern uses of noun sense 1.2 (“decree that a person should be put to death”) and the corresponding verb sense are probably influenced by the issuance of a fatwa on 14 February 1989 by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1900 or 1902 – 1989), the Supreme Leader of Iran, calling for the British-American author Salman Rushdie (born 1947) and his publishers to be put to death for alleged blasphemy in his novel The Satanic Verses (1988).
The plural form fatawa is borrowed from Arabic فَتَاوَى (fatāwā).
The verb is derived from the noun.
zabaglione
Borrowed from Italian zabaglione, zabaione, possibly from Latin sabaia (“Illyrian barley beer”) (from an Illyrian word probably from Proto-Indo-European *sab- (“taste”)) + -one (augmentative suffix).
Jan
From Old French Jehan (“John”). Doublet of John.
From various European languages, ultimately from Latin Johannes.
From Arabic جَنّ (jann)
perfume
Borrowed from Middle French parfum, perfum. Doublet of parfum.
check
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *tek-
Proto-Indo-Iranian *kšáyati
Proto-Iranian *xšáyati
Old Persian 𐏋 (XŠ)
Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ)
Classical Persian شاه (šāh)bor.
Arabic شَاه (šāh)bor.
Medieval Latin scaccusder.
Old French eschecbor.
Middle English chek
English check
From Middle English chek, chekke, borrowed from Old French eschec, eschek, eschac, from Medieval Latin scaccus, borrowed from Arabic شَاه (šāh, “king or check at chess, shah”), borrowed from Classical Persian شَاه (šāh, “king”), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /⁠šāh⁠/), from Old Persian 𐏋 (XŠ /⁠xšāyaθiya⁠/, “king”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *kšáyati (“he rules, he has power over”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tek- (“to gain power over, gain control over”).
Compare Saterland Frisian Schak, Schach, Dutch schaak, German Schach, Danish skak, Swedish schack, Icelandic skák, French échec, Italian scacco. Doublet of chess and shah (“king of Persia or Iran”), from the same source, as well as thig, which derives from the Germanic cognate.
All of the English senses developed from the chess sense.
From Middle English chekken, partly from Old French eschequier and partly from the noun (see above).
By shortening from chequer, from Old French eschequier (“chessboard”), from Medieval Latin scaccarium, ultimately from the same Persian root as above.
Ilocano
Borrowed from Spanish ilocano, from iloco + -ano, where the root is from Ilocano i- (place of origin prefix) + either lukong (“hollow; concave”) or luek/luok (“cove; bay”) + Spanish -o.
majesty
From Middle English majeste, mageste, from Old French majesté, from Latin maiestātem, (literally, "the quality of being greater”). Ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂s (“great”) See mega-.
From an alternative capitalization of English majesty, from Middle English maieste, mageste, from Old French majesté, from Latin māiestās, derived from Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂s (“great”).
eel
From Middle English el (“eel”), from Old English ǣl (“eel”), from Proto-West Germanic *āl (“eel”), from Proto-Germanic *ēlaz (“eel”), which is of unknown origin.
Cognates
Cognate with West Frisian iel (“eel”), Dutch aal (“eel”), German Low German Aal, Ool (“eel”), German Aal (“eel”), Danish, Norn, Norwegian, and Swedish ål (“eel”), Faroese állur, álur (“eel”), Icelandic áll (“eel”).
judo
Borrowed from Japanese 柔(じゅう)道(どう) (jūdō, literally “the soft way”).
soju
From Korean 소주(燒酒) (soju).
Compare Mandarin 燒酒 /烧酒 (shāojiǔ), Japanese 焼酎 (shōchū, “shōchū”). Doublet of shaojiu and shochu.
Urim and Thummim
From Biblical Hebrew אוּרִים (ʾûrîm) and תומים / תֻּמִּים (tummîm). Traditionally the Hebrew has been understood, and sometimes translated, as “Light and Truth” owing to the similarity to אוֹרִים (ʾôrîm, “lights”) and תָּמִים (tāmîm, “complete, morally upright, in accordance with truth”), an interpretation that has contributed to the terms’ association with clairvoyance. There is no consensus on the validity of this reading in the original biblical context, particularly for Thummim.
technique
Borrowed from French technique (“technicality; branch of knowledge”), noun use of technique (“technical”), from Ancient Greek τεχνικός (tekhnikós, “of or pertaining to art, artistic, skilful”), from τέχνη (tékhnē, “art, handicraft”). Doublet of technic.
altar
Inherited from Middle English auter, inherited from Old English altar and borrowed from Old French auter, both derived from Latin altāre, probably related to adolere (“burn”); thus "burning place", influenced by altus (“high”). Displaced native Middle English wēved.
gymnasium
From Latin gymnasium, from Ancient Greek γυμνάσιον (gumnásion, “exercise, school”), from γυμνός (gumnós, “naked”), because Greek athletes trained naked.
spelunk
From Middle English spelunke, from Old French spelonque and/or Latin spelunca, from Ancient Greek σπῆλυγξ (spêlunx, “cave”), related to σπέος (spéos). Cognates include Middle Dutch spelunke, spelonke, German Spelunke.
quibble
Origin uncertain. Possibly from quib (“quibble”, noun) + -le (diminutive ending). Quib is probably from Latin quibus (“in what respect? how?”), which appeared frequently in legal documents and came to be suggestive of the verbosity and petty argumentation found therein; or perhaps an alteration of quip. Alternatively, perhaps related to dialectal Dutch kwebbelen (“to speak quickly and continuously, chatter”). Compare also Scots wheebele (“a quibble”).
knock
From Middle English knokken, from Old English cnocian, ġecnocian, ġecnucian, cnucian (“to knock, pound on, beat”), from Proto-West Germanic *knokōn, from Proto-Germanic *knukōną (“to knock”), a suffixed form of *knu-, *knew- (“to pound on, beat”), from Proto-Indo-European *gnew-, *gen- (“to squeeze, pinch, kink, ball up, concentrate”). The English word is cognate with Middle High German knochen (“to hit”), Old English cnuian, cnuwian (“to pound, knock”), Old Norse knoka (compare Danish knuge (“to squeeze”), Swedish knocka (“to hug”)). More at knuckle.
(Ireland, Scotland, Cumbria) from Irish cnoc and Scottish Gaelic cnoc
ginger
Inherited from Middle English gingere, alteration of gingivere, from Old English gingifer, gingiber (influenced by Old French gingembre), from Medieval Latin gingiber, zingiber, from Latin zingiberi, from Late Ancient Greek ζιγγίβερις (zingíberis), from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀲𑀺𑀁𑀕𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭 (siṃgivera), ultimately from Old Tamil 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆 (iñcivēr), a compound of 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺 (iñci, “ginger”) and 𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆 (vēr, “root”) (compare modern Tamil இஞ்சிவேர் (iñcivēr), from இஞ்சி (iñci, “ginger”) + வேர் (vēr, “root”)).
kava
Etymology tree
Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wakaʀ
Proto-Oceanic *kawaʀ
Proto-Polynesian *kawa
Tongan kavader.
English kava
From Tongan kava, in turn from Proto-Polynesian *kawa.
Doublet of ʻawa, ava, kawa, and yava.
Transliteration of Ukrainian Кава (Kava) or a phonetic respelling of Polish Kawa, from kawa (“jackdaw”); ultimately from Proto-Slavic *kavъka (“jackdaw”).
prototype
From French prototype or Late Latin prototypon, from Ancient Greek πρωτότυπος (prōtótupos, “original; prototype”), from πρωτο- (prōto-, “first”) (from πρῶτος (prôtos, “first; earliest”)) + τῠ́πος (tŭ́pos, “blow, pressing; sort, type”) (from τύπτω (túptō, “to beat, strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- (“to push; to stick”)). The word is analysable as proto- + -type.
mushroom
From Middle English muscheron, musseron, from Anglo-Norman musherum, moscheron, from Old French moisseron, of obscure origin: probably derived from Old French mosse, moise ("moss"; whence also French mousse), as the use first applied to a type of fungus which grows in moss, from Frankish *mosu (“moss”) or Old Dutch *mosa (“moss”), akin to Old High German mosa (“moor, swamp”), Old High German mos (“moss, bog”), Old High German mios (“moss, mire”), Old English mēos (“moss”), Old English mōs (“bog, marsh”), Old Norse mosi (“moss”), Old Norse myrr (“bog, mire”), from Proto-Germanic *musą, *musô, *miuziz (“mosses, bog”), from Proto-Indo-European *mews- (“mosses, mold, mildew”). Displaced native Old English swamm. More at mire. Alternatively, the Old French may be of pre-Roman origin. See Ancient Greek μύκης (múkēs, “mushroom”). Doublet of moss and mousse.
Namur
Borrowed from French Namur.
From Marshallese Nim̧ur.
Bruges
From French Bruges, from Old French, from Old Dutch Bruges, Bruggas, Brugias, probably from brugga (“bridge”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *brugjǭ. Doublet of bridge and Brigg.
Ghent
From Middle Dutch Ghent (modern spelling: Gent), from Latin Ganda, itself probably of Celtic origin.
Ostend
From Dutch Oostende, from oost (“east”) + ende (“end”); in the middle ages the city was on the easter end of an island, Testerep, which is now attached to the main land. Doublet of East End.
Charleroi
Borrowed from French Charleroi, from Charles (“Charles”) roi (“king”).
bergen
Shortened from Bergen rucksack, possibly named after their creator, Norwegian Ole F. Bergan, combined with the name of the Norwegian city of Bergen.
Borrowed from Norwegian Bergen, from Old Norse Bjǫrgvin (“meadow between the mountains”).
Borrowed from Dutch Bergen, from Middle Dutch bergen.
clover
From Middle English clovere, claver, from Old English clāfre, earlier clǣfre, from Proto-West Germanic *klaibrā. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Kleeuwer, Low German Klaver, Klever, Dutch klaver, all “clover”. More distantly also related with German Klee.
club
Inherited from Middle English clubbe, from Old Norse klubba, klumba (“cudgel”), from Proto-Germanic *klumpô (“clip, clasp; clump, lump; log, block”). Cognate with English clump, cloud, Latin globus, glomus; and perhaps related to Middle Low German kolve (“bulb”), German Kolben (“butt, bulb, club”).
vanish
Aphetic for obsolete evanish, from Middle English vanyshen, evaneschen, from Old French esvanir, esvaniss- (modern French évanouir), from Vulgar Latin *exvanire (“to vanish, disappear, to fade out”), from Latin evanescere, from vanus (“empty”). By surface analysis, Latin van- + -ish (“verb suffix”). Doublet of evanesce.
Displaced native Old English cwincan, whose causative persists as quench (“put out (fire)”).
invisible
From Middle English invisible, from Old French invisible, from Late Latin invīsibilis. Displaced native Old English unġesewenlīċ.
Morphologically in- + visible.
visible
From Middle English visible, from Old French visible, from Late Latin visibilis (“that may be seen”), from Latin videre (“to see”), past participle visus; see vision. Displaced native Old English ġesewenlīċ.
kwukyel
Borrowed from kwūkyel, the Yale romanization of Korean 구결(口訣) (gugyeol), from Middle Chinese 口訣 (MC khuwX kwet, “mnemonic rhyme”), from 口 (kǒu, “mouth”) + 訣 /诀 (jué, “rhymed saying”).
los
Inherited from Middle English lusk, from Old English lox, from Proto-West Germanic *luhs, from Proto-Germanic *luhsaz. Cognate with Scots los, Saterland Frisian Luks, Low German Luks, Dutch los, German Luchs, Luxembourgish Luuss.
Inherited from Middle English los, from Old English los, from Proto-Germanic *lusą, from Proto-Indo-European *lews-.
Sarajevo
From Serbo-Croatian Sarajevo, from Ottoman Turkish سرای, Turkish Saray-ovası, from saray (“palace”), from Persian سرای (sarây, “inn”).), and ova "plain, lowland".
Aytos
Borrowed from Bulgarian Айтос (Ajtos), from Ancient Greek ᾱ̓ετός (āetós, “eagle”).
borrow
From Middle English borwen, from Old English borgian (“to borrow, lend, pledge surety for”), from Proto-West Germanic *borgōn, from Proto-Germanic *burgōną (“to pledge, take care of”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- (“to take care”).
Cognate with Dutch borgen (“to borrow, trust”), German borgen (“to borrow, lend”), Danish borge (“to vouch”). Related to Old English beorgan (“to save, preserve”). More at bury.
From Middle English borwe, borgh, from Old English borh, borg, from Proto-West Germanic *borgōn, from Proto-Germanic *burgōną (“to borrow, lend”) (related to Etymology 1, above).
Montana
From Latin montāna
* the US state via Spanish montaña (“mountain”)
* the surname from Spanish Montaña topographic surname
ruse
From Middle English rūse (“evasive movements of a pursued animal; circuitous course taken by a hunter to pursue a game animal”), from Old French rëuse, ruse (“evasive movements of a pursued animal; trickery”) (modern French ruse (“trick, ruse; cunning, guile”)), from ruser (“to use cunning, to be crafty, beguile”), possibly from Latin rursus (“backward; on the contrary; again, in return”) or Latin recūsāre, from recūsō (“to decline, refuse; to object to, protest, reject”). Doublet of recuse and rouse in the latter case.
The verb is derived from the noun. Compare Middle French ruser (“to use cunning, to be crafty, beguile”); see further above.
Borrowed from Bulgarian Русе (Ruse).
* As an English surname, variant of Rouse, Rowse.
* As a German surname, variant of Reuss, Reusse.
* As a Czech surname, Americanized from Rus (“Russian”).
Sofia
Variant spelling of Sophia and from various other languages' own adaptations of Ancient Greek Σοφία (Sophía, “wisdom, especially divine wisdom”). Sometimes borrowed into English as an anglicization of an accented or closely related form, as with Spanish Sofía, Welsh Soffia, and Hungarian Zsófia.
As the capital of Bulgaria, via nonstandard, though now official, romanization of Bulgarian Со́фия (Sófiya), from църква „Света София“ (cǎrkva "Sveta Sofija"), from Byzantine Greek Ναός Ἁγίας Σοφίας (Naós Hagías Sophías, “Church of Holy Wisdom”), the city's prominent 6th-century Byzantine Greek church, first attested being used as the name for the city in the 14th century and reinforced under Ottoman rule as Ottoman Turkish صوفیه (Sofya). Compare the name of the Hagia Sophia.
From Malagasy Sofia of uncertain origin. The region is named for the river.
amorphous
From Ancient Greek ἄμορφος (ámorphos, “without form, shapeless, deformed”) (itself from ἀ- (a-, “without”) + μορφή (morphḗ, “form”) + -ous. By surface analysis, a- + -morphous.
foible
1640–50, from Early Modern French foible (“feeble”) (contemporary French faible). Doublet of feeble.
quirk
First attested in the 1540s. Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Middle English *querk, from Old Norse kverk (“a bend or angle, especially below a cross-beam or below the chin, the bight of an axe", also "throat, gullet”), from Proto-Germanic *kwerkō (“throat, gullet”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷerh₃- (“to devour; maw”). Cognate with Scots querk (“throat", also "any hollow in the body, such as an armpit, groin, instep, etc.”), Icelandic kverk (“interior angle”). Also partially from dialectal quirk, querk (“a whim, fancy, fuss, huff, complaint", also "to peevishly grumble, grunt, sigh, croak, die”), from Middle English querken, *quirken (“to choke”), from Old Norse kvirkja (“to choke, strangle”), from the same origin above. Related to dialectal querken, quirken (“to choke”). Likely not related to queer.
Irish and Manx surname, Anglicized from Ó Cuirc (“descendant of Corc”), a personal name derived from curc (“tuft of hair”). It was sometimes Anglicized as Oates due to an erroneous association with coirce (“oats”).
Sometimes also a shortened variant of McGuirk.