MarcusBennevall/EtymologyTaggerDataset huggingface dataset:
manhandle
From Middle English manne-handlen, man handelen, equivalent to man (“male person”) + handle.
dodge
Likely from dialectal dodge, dod, dodd (“to jog, trudge along, totter", also "to jerk, jig”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from unrecorded Middle English *dodden, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dud- (“to move”), related to Old English dydrian, dyderian (“to delude, deceive”), Middle English dideren (“to tremble, quake, shiver”), English dodder, Norwegian dudra (“to tremble”).
From a Middle English diminutive form of Roger.
frustrate
From Middle English frustraten (“to prevent, disappoint, render useless”), from Latin frūstrātus, perfect passive participle of frūstrō (“to deceive”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Compare French frustrer.
From Middle English frustrat (“prevented, disappointed, rendered useless”, adjective as well as past participle of frustraten (see Etymology 1)), from Latin frūstrātus, perfect passive participle of frūstrō (“to deceive”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix).
boatswain
From Middle English botswain, botswein, bote-swayn, from late Old English bātsweġen, from bāt (“boat”) + sweġen (“swain”), the latter element a borrowing from Old Norse sveinn (“boy”); equivalent to boat + swain (“boy, servant”).
bollard
From Middle English bollard, probably from Middle English bole (“tree trunk”), from Old Norse bolr (“stump, trunk”), equivalent to bole + -ard (pejorative or diminutive suffix).
booby
17th century. From Spanish bobo, from Latin balbus (“stammering”).
(bird): Compare typologically Translingual Morus, German Tölpel, Polish głuptak (akin to głupek), Russian о́луша (óluša) (akin to о́лух (ólux)).
barking
From Middle English berkyng, berkande, equivalent to bark + -ing.
From Middle English berkyng, berking, berkynge, equivalent to bark + -ing.
bora
From Gamilaraay būru.
Either from Serbo-Croatian bura (“downslope wind, northeast or ENE wind”), or from a dialectal form of Italian borea (“north wind”) from Latin Boreās.
Various origins:
* Borrowed from Assamese বৰা (bora), a surname of unclear origin.
* Borrowed from Romanian Bora, a feminine hypocoristic form of the personal name Boris.
* Borrowed from Polish Bora, a pet form of Borzyslaw or Bolebor.
* Borrowed from Hungarian Bora, a variant of Bara.
bowsprit
First attested in late 13th century. Probably borrowed from Middle Low German bochspret, from boch (“bow of a ship”) + spret (“pole”) (related to Old English spreot and English sprout).
insular
Learned borrowing from Latin īnsulāris (“of or belonging to an island”), from īnsula (“an island”), of uncertain origin.
karate
Borrowed from Japanese 空(から)手(て) (karate), from 唐(から)手(て) (karate), an orthographic borrowing from Okinawan 唐手(とーでぃー) (tōdī, “Chinese hand”).
workaday
Middle English werkedei, from Old Norse virkr dagr (“working day”). Cognate to later workday; see work and day. Used in adjective sense from 16th century. By surface analysis, work + -a- + day. First attested in c. 1200.
workday
From Middle English werkdai, werkedei, werkedai, from Old English weorcdæġ (“workday”), equivalent to work + day. Cognate with West Frisian wurkdei (“workday”), Dutch werkdag (“workday”), German Low German Warkdag (“workday”), German Werktag (“workday”). See also workaday.
geodesic
From French géodésique. By surface analysis, geodesy + -ic.
geodesy
From French géodésie, from Medieval Latin geōdaesia, from Ancient Greek γεωδαισία (geōdaisía), from γῆ (gê, “earth”) + δαίω (daíō, “to divide”). By surface analysis, geode + -esy.
walker
From Middle English walkere (“one who walks, traveller”), equivalent to walk + -er.
doufu
From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 豆腐 (dòufu). Doublet of tofu and dubu.
tofu
Borrowed from Japanese 豆(とう)腐(ふ) (tōfu), from Middle Chinese 豆腐 (duwᴴ bju^X, “curdled bean”). Doublet of dubu and doufu.
bean curd
Loose calque of Chinese 豆腐 (dòufu), from Middle Chinese 豆 (duwᴴ, “bean”) + 腐 (bju^X, “rotten, fermented”).
sixty-nine
Calque of French soixante-neuf, from the rotational symmetry of the numeral 69 — if rotated a half-turn (by 180°), the numeral remains the same, and a couple both giving oral sex at once have, in principle, a similar rotational symmetry.
disparate
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁
Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is-
Proto-Italic *dis-
Latin dis-
Proto-Indo-European *perh₃-der.
Latin parō
Latin disparō
Latin disparātusder.
Middle French desparatbor.
▲
Latin disparātusbor.
English disparate
First attested in 1586; either borrowed from Middle French desparat or directly from Latin disparātus, perfect passive participle of disparō (“to divide”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix)), from dis- (“apart”) + parō (“to arrange”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ (“two”) and the root *per- (“carry forth”).
seminal
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *seh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥
Proto-Indo-European *séh₁mn̥
Proto-Italic *sēmən
Latin sēmen
Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.?
Proto-Italic *-ālis
Latin -ālis
Latin sēminālis
Old French seminalbor.
Middle English seminal
English seminal
From Middle English seminal, semynal, from Old French seminal, seminale, from Latin sēminālis.
grovel
From Middle English *grovelen, from Old Norse grufla, grœfla (“to grovel”), from Proto-Germanic *grubilōną (“to dig, delve into”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ‑ (“to dig, scrape, scrabble, scratch”); akin to Old Norse á grufu (“on one's belly”) ( > Old Norse grúfa (“to lie face down, grovel”)). Cognate with Scots grovel, gruvil (“to grovel”), German grübeln (“to meditate, ponder”), Norwegian Nynorsk gruvla (“to grovel”). Compare also West Frisian groebeltsje (“to make a mess, skip school, skive”), Dutch grobbelen (“to grope, root, grub”).
chubby
Recorded since 1611, from chub (“short, thick fish species used as bait"; used metaphorically since 1558 for "lazy person”), an assibilated form of cub (“a lump, heap, mass”) and cob, from Middle English *cubbe (found only in derivative cubbel (“a block to which an animal is tethered”)), from Old Norse kubbr, kumbr (“block, stump, log”) and/or Old Norse kumben (“stumpy”), equivalent to chub + -y. Cognate with dialectal Swedish kubbug (“fat, plump, chubby”). More at chub.
usury
From Middle English usurie, from Latin ūsūria, from ūsūra (“lending at interest, usury”) from ūsus (“use”), from stem of ūtī (“to use”). Compare usurp and use.
cauldron
From Middle English caudroun, borrowed from Old Northern French caudron, ultimately from Late Latin caldāria (“cooking-pot”), from Latin caldus (“hot”). Spelling later Latinized by having an l inserted. See chowder, caldera.
The military sense is a semantic loan from German Kessel; compare English kettling.
wunderkind
Unadapted borrowing from German Wunderkind, from Wunder (“wonder”) + Kind (“child”). Compare native wonderchild.
woebegone
From Old English wābegān (“beset by woe”), from wā (“woe”) + begān (“to beset, to surround”). Equivalent to woe + begone (past participle of bego).
wassail
From Middle English wassail, from Old Norse ves heill (“be healthy!”), from the imperative of vesa (“to be”) + heill (“healthy”). The earliest documented use of the term is from the first part of the 12th century CE, in Geoffroy of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (see page's citations).
tribal
From Latin tribālis. By surface analysis, tribe + -al, first attested in the 1630s. The specific adjectival sense under the defunct theory of recapitulation derives from tribal history as an overly literal learned borrowing from German Stammesgeschichte; ordinarily, Stamm would only be translated as tribe when used in its ethnographic sense.
voluptuary
From French voluptuaire, or directly from its etymon Late Latin voluptuārius, from Latin voluptārius (“pleasure-seeker; agreeable, delightful, pleasant; sensual”), from voluptās (“delight, pleasure, satisfaction”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns). Voluptās is derived from volup (“with pleasure; agreeably, pleasantly, satisfactorily”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose; to want”)) + -tās (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns indicating a state of being).
dudgeon
Uncertain:
* Perhaps the same as Etymology 2, below
* Perhaps from Welsh dygen (“anger, grudge”) (from dy- + cwyn (“complaint”)), though the OED rejects this.
* Possibly from dudgen (“trash, something worthless”).
* Possibly borrowed from Italian aduggiare (“to overshadow”), similar to the semantic development of umbrage.
From Middle English dogeon, apparently from Anglo-Norman or Middle French, but the ultimate origin is obscure. Compare French douve (“stave”).
Elysium
From Latin, from Ancient Greek Ἠλῠ́σῐον (Πεδῐ́ον) (Ēlŭ́sĭon (Pedĭ́on)).
Elysian Fields
From Elysian + fields, as a calque of Latin Campī Ēlysiī, from Ancient Greek Ἠλῠ́σῐον Πεδῐ́ον (Ēlŭ́sĭon Pedĭ́on).
gravitas
Borrowed from Latin gravitās (“weight, heaviness”). Doublet of gravity.
kismet
From Ottoman Turkish قسمت (kısmet, “fate, destiny”) (Turkish kısmet), from Arabic قِسْمَة (qisma, “division, lot, destiny”).
venial
From Old French venial, borrowed from Late Latin veniālem (“pardonable”), from Latin venia (“forgiveness”).
uxorious
Borrowed from Latin uxōrius (“of or pertaining to a wife”), from uxor (“wife”) + -ious.
undulate
First attested in 1664; borrowed from New Latin undulātus, the perfect passive participle of undulō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from an unattested *undula (“small wave”), diminutive of Latin unda (“wave”).
Borrowed from Late Latin undulātus (“undulated”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix).
ululate
Borrowed from Latin ululō, ululātus, of imitative origin. Cognate with Spanish aullar (“to howl”) and ulular (“to hoot”), and French ululer (“to howl”).
ukase
Borrowed from Russian ука́з (ukáz, “edict, decree”).
rara avis
Unadapted borrowing from Latin rāra avis (“rare bird”). The synonym rare bird is attested earlier. The term is a quotation from Satire VI (written late 1st century – early 2nd century C.E.) of the Roman poet Juvenal: “Rara avis in terris, nigroque simillima cygno [a bird as rare upon the earth as a black swan]!”.
The plural form rarae aves is a learned borrowing from Latin rārae avēs.
purdah
Borrowed from Hindustani پردہ / पर्दा (pardā), and its etymon Classical Persian پرده (pardah, “curtain; screen; (archaic) veil”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat”). Doublet of patka.
derailleur
Borrowed from French dérailleur. Doublet of derailer.
substantial
From Middle English substancial, substantiall, from Old French substanciel, substantiel and its etymon Latin substantiālis.
rusticate
Borrowed from Latin rūsticātus, perfect active participle of rūsticor (“to live in the countryside”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), originally in the same sense. First attested in the mid-17th century. By surface analysis, rustic + -ate (verb-forming suffix).
workhouse
From Middle English werkhous, from Old English weorchūs (“workshop, place of manufacture”), from Proto-Germanic *werkahūsą, equivalent to work + house.
jaded
From jade (“worn-out horse”), possibly from Old Norse jalda (“mare”). Jade as a term of abuse for a woman dates from 1560.
joiner
From Middle English joynour (“maker of furniture, small boxes, etc.”), from Old French joigneor (“joiner, carpenter”), agent noun from joindre (“to join”), equivalent to join + -er.
workman
From Middle English werkman, from Old English weorcmann (“workman”), from Proto-West Germanic *werkamann, from Proto-Germanic *werkamann- (“workman”), equivalent to work + -man. Compare Dutch werkman (“workman”), German Werkmann (“labourer, workman”), Icelandic verkamaður (“workman”).
Koine
Borrowed from Ancient Greek Κοινή (Koinḗ), from ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος (hē koinḕ diálektos, “the common dialect”), from κοινός (koinós, “shared, common, public, general, ordinary, usual”). Doublet of koinon.
Borrowed from Ancient Greek κοινή (koinḗ), feminine form of κοινός (koinós, “common, general”). Doublet of koinon.
journalism
From French journalisme (beginning of 19th century). By surface analysis, journal + -ism.
Archibald
From Anglo-Norman Arcebald, Arcenbald or Ercenbald, from Old French Archaunbault, from Proto-West Germanic *Erknabalþ, from *erkn (“pure, holy, genuine, precious”) + *balþ (“strong, bold”).
doggy
From Middle English doggi, equivalent to dog + -y (adjectival suffix).
wrangle
The verb is derived from Middle English wranglen, wrangle (“to contend with (someone) in a test of strength; (figuratively) to make misleading arguments to entrap”); from a Middle Dutch or Middle Low German word related to Middle Dutch wrangen and Middle Low German wrangen (“to cause an uproar; to struggle, wrestle”) (whence Low German wrangeln (“to wrangle”)), related to Middle Dutch wringen (“to twist; to wrest; to wring; to struggle, wrestle”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *wringaną (“to squeeze; to twist; to wring”).
The noun is derived from the verb.
Cognates
* Danish vringle (“to twist, entangle”)
* German rangeln (“to wrestle”)
fastidious
Borrowed from Latin fastīdiōsus (“passive: that feels disgust, disdainful, scornful, fastidious; active: that causes disgust, disgusting, loathsome”), from fastīdium (“a loathing, aversion, disgust, niceness of taste, daintiness, etc.”), perhaps for *fastutidium, from fastus (“disdain, haughtiness, arrogance, disgust”) + taedium (“disgust”). Cf. French fastidieux.
wrapping
From Middle English wrappinge, wrappynge, equivalent to wrap + -ing.
wrestle
The verb is derived from Middle English wrestlen, wrastlen (“to engage in grappling combat or sport, struggle, wrestle; to twist and turn, squirm, wriggle, writhe; (figurative) to contend, grapple with, struggle”), from Old English wrǣstlian (“to wrestle”), a frequentative form of wrǣstan (“to twist, wrest”), from Proto-Germanic *wraistijaną (“to turn; to twist, wrest”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- (“to twist”). By surface analysis, wrest + -le (frequentative suffix). Probably related to wraxle (UK, dialectal, archaic).
The noun is derived from the verb.
cognates
* Middle Dutch worstelen, wrastelen (“to wrestle”) (modern Dutch worstelen)
* Middle Low German wrostelen (“to wrestle”) (German Low German frösseln, wrösseln)
* Saterland Frisian wrosselje (“to contend, wrestle”)
* West Frisian wrakselje (“to wrestle”)
wretch
From Middle English wrecche, from Old English wreċċa (“exile, outcast”), from Proto-Germanic *wrakjô (“exile, fugitive, warrior”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreg- (“to track, follow”). Doublet of garçon.
wretchedness
From Middle English wrecchednesse; equivalent to wretched + -ness.
writ
From Middle English writ, from Old English writ and ġewrit (“writing”), from Proto-Germanic *writą (“fissure, writing”), from Proto-Indo-European *wrey-, *wrī- (“to scratch, carve, ingrave”). Cognate with Scots writ (“writ, writing, handwriting”), Icelandic rit (“writing, writ, literary work, publication”).
From Middle English writ, write, from Old English write.
Holy Writ
From Middle English Holi Writ, hali writ, from Old English hāliġ ġewrit (“scripture”, literally “holy writing”). By surface analysis, holy + writ (“scripture, writing”).
ridotto
Borrowed from Italian ridotto (“foyer”). Doublet of redoubt.
erect
From Middle English erect, a borrowing from Latin ērectus (“upright”), past participle of ērigō (“raise, set up”), from ē- (“out”) + regō (“to direct, keep straight, guide”).
From Middle English erecten, from the adjective (see above).
compromise
From Middle French compromis, from Medieval Latin, Late Latin compromissum (“a compromise, originally a mutual promise to refer to arbitration”), prop. neuter of Latin compromissus, past participle of compromittere (“to make a mutual promise to abide by the decision of an arbiter”), from com- (“together”) + promittere (“to promise”); see promise.
colonel
First attested in the 1540s, from Middle French coronnel, from Old Italian colonnello (“the officer of a small company of soldiers (column) that marched at the head of a regiment”), from compagnia colonnella (“little column company”), from Latin columna (“pillar”), originally a collateral form of columen, contraction culmen (“a pillar, top, crown, summit”), o-grade form from a Proto-Indo-European *kelH- (“to rise, be elevated, be prominent”). See hill, holm.
The French spelling was reformed late 16th century. The English spelling was modified in 1580s in learned writing to conform to the Italian form (via translations of Italian military manuals), and differing pronunciations (either with "r" or "l") coexisted until around 1650, where it came to be pronounced with "r" only. Spanish and Portuguese coronel, also from Italian, shows similar evolution by dissimilation and perhaps by influence of corona.
bridle
From Middle English bridel, from Old English brīdel, from Proto-West Germanic *brigdil, from Proto-Germanic *brigdilaz (“strap, rein”), equivalent to braid + -le.
euphonious
From euphonical + -ous (suffix forming adjectives denoting possession or presence of a quality, commonly in abundance). Euphonical is derived from euphonic + -al (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘of or pertaining to’); with euphonic from euphony + -ic (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘of or pertaining to’), and euphony borrowed from French euphonie, from Ancient Greek εὐφωνία (euphōnía), from εὐ- (eu-, prefix meaning ‘good, well’) + φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound; (human) voice; discourse, speech”) (from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to say, speak”)) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns).
dissipate
The verb is first attested in 1425, in Middle English, the adjective from 1606 to 1765; from Middle English dissipaten, from Latin dissipātus, perfect passive participle of dissipō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), also written dissupō (“to scatter, disperse, demolish, destroy, squander, dissipate”), from dis- (“apart”) + supō (“to throw”). Doublet of dissipe (“to dissipate”), now obsolete.
dispersion
From disperse + -ion, from Middle English dispersioun, from Old French dispersion, from Latin dispersiō.
erectile
From French érectile, from Latin erectus, past participle of erigere, equivalent to erect + -ile.
scintilla
Existing in English since the 17th century; borrowed from Latin scintilla (“spark”).
excoriate
First attested in the first part of the 15ᵗʰ century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English *excoriaten (only attested in its past participle), borrowed from Late Latin excoriātus perfect passive participle of excoriō (“to take the skin or hide off, flay, skin”), from ex- (“out off, from”) + corium (“hide, skin”) + -ō. Regular participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English, later archaic.
exigency
From Middle French exigence, from Late Latin exigentia (“urgency”) (from exigēns + -ia), from exigere (“to demand”).
discourage
From Middle French descourager (modern French décourager), from Old French descouragier, from des- and corage. By surface analysis, dis- + courage.
syncretism
From Latin syncretismus, from Ancient Greek συγκρητισμός (sunkrētismós, “federation of Cretan cities”), from συγκρητίζω (sunkrētízō, “to unite against a common enemy”), from σύν (sún, “together”) (see English syn-) + Κρῆτες (Krêtes, “Cretans”). By surface analysis, syn- + Crete + -ism (“Crete joining together”).
thorough
From Middle English thoruȝ, þoruȝ, from Old English þuruh, a byform of Old English þurh, whence comes English through. The adjective derives from the preposition and adverb. The word developed a syllabic form in cases where the word was fully stressed: when it was used as an adverb, adjective, or noun, and less commonly when used as a preposition.
libretto
From Italian libretto, diminutive of libro (“book”), from Latin liber (“book”).
peninsula
Borrowed from Latin paenīnsula, from paene (“almost”), and īnsula (“island”).
entomb
From Old French entomber (“deposit in a tomb”). Equivalent to en- + tomb.
gratulate
First attested circa 1567; borrowed from Latin grātulātus, perfect active participle of grātulor, see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
shingle
From Middle English shyngel, alteration of Old English sċindel, from Proto-West Germanic *skindulā, borrowed from Late Latin scindula, from Latin scandula, from Proto-Indo-European *sked- (“to split, scatter”), from *sek- (“to cut”). Doublet of shindle.
From dialectal French chingler (“to strap, whip”), from Latin cingula (“girt, belt”), from cingere (“to girt”).
From Middle English shingel, chingel, singel (“gravel, pebbles”), cognate with Norwegian Bokmål singel (“pebble(s)”), Norwegian Nynorsk singel (“pebble(s)”), and North Frisian singel (“gravel”), imitative of the sound of water running over such pebbles.
congratulate
First attested in 1548; borrowed from Latin congrātulātus, the perfect active participle of Latin congrātulor (“to wish joy, rejoice (with); to congratulate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from con- + grātulor, from grātus (“grateful, pleasing, agreeable, beloved”) + -or. By surface analysis, con- + gratulate.
persist
From Middle French persister (Modern French persister), from Latin persistere, from per- + sistere (“to stand”).
fatigue
From French fatigue, from fatiguer, from Latin fatīgāre (“to weary, tire, vex, harass”).
From French fatiguer, from Latin fatīgāre (“to weary, tire, vex, harass”).
resume
From Anglo-Norman resumer, Middle French resumer, from Latin resumere, from re- + sumere (“to take”).
Borrowed from French résumé, past participle of résumer (“to summarize”), from Latin resūmere (“to take back”); compare resume.
distraction
Borrowed from Middle French distraction, from Latin distractio. Equivalent to distract + -ion.
distract
Borrowed from Latin distractus, from distrahō (“to pull apart”), from dis- + trahō (“to pull”).
gruel
From Middle English gruel, gruwel, greuel, growel (“meal or flour made from beans, lentils, etc.”), from Old French gruel (“coarse meal; > French gruau”), from Medieval Latin grutellum, diminutive of Medieval Latin grutum (“flour; meal”), from a Germanic source, likely Old English grūt (“meal; grout”) or perhaps Frankish *grūt; both from Proto-Germanic *grūtiz (“ground material; grit”). Compare Dutch gruit, Middle Low German grūt, Middle High German grūz, German Grütze (“grout”). Related also to English groats, grit.
formidable
From Middle English formidable, from Old French formidable, formible, from Latin formīdābilis (“formidable, terrible”), from formīdō (“fear, dread”).
tutelary
From Latin tūtēlārius (“guardian”), from tūtēla (“tutelage, guardianship; dependent, client”) + -ārius (suffix denoting an agent of use); analysable as tutelar + -ary.
sapient
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English sapient (“learned, wise”), from Old French sapient, or from its etymon Latin sapient-, a stem of sapiēns (“(adjective) discerning, judicious, wise; (noun) wise man, sage”), the present active participle of sapiō (“to have a flavour of, taste like; (figurative) to have good taste; to have discernment or sense; to be prudent, sensible, or wise”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁p-, *sep- (“to taste; to try out”). Doublet of savant.
The noun is derived from the adjective, and also influenced by Latin sapiēns (noun) (see above).
restive
Modification of earlier restiff, from Middle English restyf, from Old French restif, from rester (“to stay, remain”), from Latin restō.
* Shares an etymology with rest ("to remain," obsolete)
*Merriam-Webster states that this word was originally used to describe horses that disobeyed commands. Presumably, then, the word came to mean fidgety or anxious more broadly.
malaise
From French malaise (“ill ease”), from mal- (“bad, badly”) + aise (“ease”). Compare ill at ease.
butler
From Middle English butler, butlere, boteler, botelere, from Old French buttiler, butiller, boteillier (“officer in charge of wine”), from Medieval Latin botellārius, equivalent to bottle + -er. Piecewise doublet of bottler.
* (English surname): From Middle English Butler.
* (Anglicized surname): From French Boutilier, Boutillier, Bouthillier.
* (placename): From the surname
petition
From Middle English, borrowed from Old French peticiun, from stem of Latin petitio, petitionem (“a request, solicitation”), from petere (“to require, seek, go forward”).