MarcusBennevall/EtymologyTaggerDataset huggingface dataset:
absorption
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep
Proto-Indo-European *-o
Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó
Proto-Italic *ap
Latin abder.
Latin ab-
Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ-
Proto-Indo-European *-yeti
Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti
Proto-Indo-European *srobʰéyeti
Proto-Italic *sorβeō
Latin sorbeō
Latin absorbeō
Proto-Indo-European *-tis
Proto-Indo-European *-Hō
Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō
Proto-Italic *-tiō
Latin -tiō
Latin absorptiōder.
English absorption
First attested in 1597. From Latin absorptiō (“a sucking in”), from absorbeō (“absorb”). Morphologically absorb + -tion.
absorbent
From Latin absorbēns, present active participle of absorbeō (“absorb”).
abstention
First attested in 1521. Borrowed from French abstention, from Late Latin abstēntiō from Latin abstinēō (“withhold, to abstain”)
abstergent
From French, from Latin abstergens, present participle of abstergeo (“wiping off”).
abstinence
From Middle English abstinence, from Old French abstinence, from Latin abstinentia, from abstinēns, present participle of abstineō (“to withhold”). Equivalent to abstain + -ence.
abstract
From Middle English abstract, borrowed from Latin abstractus, perfect passive participle of abstrahō (“draw away”), formed from abs- (“away”) + trahō (“to pull, draw”). The verbal sense is first attested in 1542.
absorb
From Middle French absorber, from Old French assorbir, from Latin absorbeō (“swallow up”), from ab- (“from”) + sorbeō (“suck in, swallow”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ- (“to sip”). Compare French absorber.
abstraction
From Middle English abstraccyone; either from Middle French abstraction or from Medieval Latin abstrāctiō (“separation”), from Latin abstrahō (“draw away”). Equivalent to abstract + -ion.
absurd
First attested in 1557. From Middle French absurde, from Latin absurdus (“incongruous, dissonant, out of tune”), from ab (“away from, out”) + surdus (“silent, deaf, dull-sounding”). Compare surd.
abuse
From Middle English abusen, then from either Old French abus (“improper use”), or from Latin abūsus (“misused, using up”), perfect active participle of abūtor (“make improper use of, consume, abuse”), from ab (“away”) + ūtor (“to use”). Equivalent to ab- + use.
From Middle English abusen, from Middle French abuser, from Latin abūsus (“misused, using up”), perfect active participle of abūtor (“to use up, misuse, consume”), from ab (“from, away from”) + ūtor (“to use”).
abundance
From Middle English abundaunce, habaundance, from Old French habundance, abondance, from Latin abundantia (“fullness, plenty”), from abundō (“to overflow”). Equivalent to abound + -ance. Displaced Old English geniht (“abundance, plenty”).
abundant
First attested about 1380. From Middle English abundaunt, habundaunt, aboundant, from Anglo-Norman abundant, from Old French abondant, from Latin abundāns, present participle of abundō (“to overflow, to abound”). Compare abound.
abutment
First attested in 1644; engineering sense first attested in 1793. From Old French aboutement. Equivalent to abut + -ment.
abyss
From Middle English abissus, from Late Latin abyssus (“a bottomless gulf”), from Ancient Greek ἄβυσσος (ábussos, “bottomless”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + βυσσός (bussós, “deep place”), from βυθός (buthós, “deep place”). Displaced native Old English neowolnes.
abysm
From Middle English abime, from Old French abisme from Late Latin *abyssimus, a superlative of abyssus (“bottomless pit”), from Ancient Greek ἄβυσσος (ábussos). Cognate to French abîme. See also abyss.
academic
Etymology tree
Ancient Greek Ἀκάδημος (Akádēmos)
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂
Proto-Hellenic *-íā
Ancient Greek -ία (-ía)
Ancient Greek Ἀκαδημία (Akadēmía)
Proto-Indo-European *-kos
Ancient Greek -κός (-kós)
Ancient Greek -ικός (-ikós)
Ancient Greek Ἀκάδημος (Akádēmos)
Proto-Indo-European *-os
Proto-Indo-European *-ēs
Ancient Greek -ης (-ēs)
Proto-Indo-European *-is
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂der.
Ancient Greek -ῐᾰ (-ĭă)
Ancient Greek -εια (-eia)
Ancient Greek Ἀκαδήμεια (Akadḗmeia)
▲
Ancient Greek -ικός (-ikós)
Ancient Greek ἀκαδημικός (akadēmikós)der.
Medieval Latin acadēmicusder.
▲
Latin acadēmicusbor.
French académiqueder.
English academic
From both the Medieval Latin acadēmicus and the French académique, from Latin academia, from Ancient Greek ἀκαδημικός (akadēmikós), from Ἀκαδημία (Akadēmía) or Ἀκαδήμεια (Akadḗmeia), the name of the place where Plato taught; compare academy. By surface analysis, academy + -ic.
academy
Etymology tree
Ancient Greek Ἀκάδημος (Akádēmos)
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂
Proto-Hellenic *-íā
Ancient Greek -ία (-ía)
Ancient Greek Ἀκαδήμεια (Akadḗmeia)der.
Classical Latin acadēmī̆ader.
Middle English Achademia
English academy
From Middle English Achademia, achademy, Achademye, achadomye, from Classical Latin Acadēmī̆a /acadēmī̆a, from Ancient Greek Ἀκαδημία (Akadēmía), a grove of trees and gymnasium outside of Athens where Plato taught; from the name of the supposed former owner of that estate, the Attic hero Akademos. Doublet of academe, academia, and Akademeia.
Etymology tree
Ancient Greek Ἀκάδημος (Akádēmos)
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂
Proto-Hellenic *-íā
Ancient Greek -ία (-ía)
Ancient Greek Ἀκαδήμεια (Akadḗmeia)der.
Classical Latin acadēmī̆ader.
Middle English Achademia
English Academy
From Middle English Achademia, achademy, Achademye, achadomye, from Classical Latin Acadēmī̆a /acadēmī̆a, from Ancient Greek Ἀκαδημία (Akadēmía), a grove of trees and gymnasium outside of Athens where Plato taught; from the name of the supposed former owner of that estate, the Attic hero Akademos. Doublet of academia and Akademeia; compare academe.
acanthus
From Latin acanthus, from Ancient Greek ἄκανθος (ákanthos, “thorn”), from ἀκή (akḗ, “point”) + ἄνθος (ánthos, “flower”).
accelerate
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
Proto-Italic *ad
Proto-Italic *ad-
Latin ad-
Proto-Indo-European *kel-der.
Latin celer
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
Proto-Italic *-āō
Latin -ō
Latin celerō
Latin accelerō
Latin accelerātuslbor.
▲
Latin accelerō
Proto-Indo-European *-tis
Proto-Indo-European *-Hō
Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō
Proto-Italic *-tiō
Latin -tiō
Latin accelerātiōder.
English accelerationbf.
English accelerate
First attested in the 1520s. Either from Latin accelerātus, perfect passive participle of accelerō (“to accelerate, hasten”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), formed from ad + celerō (“to hasten”), which is from celer (“quick”) (see celerity), or back-formation from acceleration.
acceleration
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
Proto-Italic *ad
Proto-Italic *ad-
Latin ad-
Proto-Indo-European *kel-der.
Latin celer
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
Proto-Italic *-āō
Latin -ō
Latin celerō
Latin accelerō
Proto-Indo-European *-tis
Proto-Indo-European *-Hō
Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō
Proto-Italic *-tiō
Latin -tiō
Latin accelerātiōder.
English acceleration
First attested in 1531. From French accélération or more likely directly from Latin accelerātiō (“a hastening, acceleration”). Equivalent to accelerate + -ion.
accomplish
From Middle English accomplisshen, acomplissen, from Old French acompliss-, extended stem of acomplir (Modern French accomplir), from Vulgar Latin *(ac)complīre, from Latin complēre (“fill up/out, complete”, whence English complete).
First attested in the late 14th century.
accent
Inherited from Middle English accent, from Medieval Latin accentus and Old French accent, acent, both from Latin accentus, past participle of accinō (“sing to, sing along”), from ad- + canō (“to sing”). The word accent had been borrowed into Old English already, but was lost and reborrowed in Middle English.
From Middle French accenter, from Old French accenter, from Latin accentō, from accentus.
accentuate
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
Proto-Italic *ad
Proto-Italic *ad-
Latin ad-
Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n-der.
Proto-Italic *kanō
Latin canō
Latin accinō
Proto-Indo-European *-tus
Proto-Italic *-tus
Latin -tus
▲
Ancient Greek προσῳδῐ́ᾱ (prosōidĭ́ā)calq.
Latin accentus
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
Proto-Italic *-āō
Latin -ō
Latin accentuō
Medieval Latin accentuātusbor.
English accentuate
First attested in 1731; borrowed from Medieval Latin accentuātus, perfect passive participle of accentuō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from Latin accentus. accent + -u- + -ate.
access
From Middle English accesse, acces, borrowed from Middle French acces (“attack, onslaught”) or from its source Latin accessus, perfect passive participle of accēdō (“approach; accede”), from ad (“to, toward, at”) + cēdō (“move, yield”). Doublet of accessus. First attested in the early 14th century. The sense "entrance" was first attested about 1380.
acclaim
* First attested in the early 14th century.
* (to applaud): First attested in the 1630s.
* Borrowed from Latin acclāmō (“raise a cry at; applaud”), formed from ad- + clāmō (“cry out, shout”).
accomplice
First attested in 1550. From a complice, from Middle English complice, from Old French complice (“confederate”), from Latin complicāre (“fold together”). The article a became part of the word, through the influence of the word accomplish.
accompany
* First attested in early 15th century.
From Middle English accompanien, from Old French acompagner (“to associate with”), from compaing (“companion”), nominative singular of compaignon (“companion”). See company.
accompaniment
From French accompagnement; equivalent to accompany + -ment. First attested in 1744.
accession
Ultimately from Latin accessiō(n), from accēdō (English accede). Cognate to French accession. First attested in 1646.
accessory
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
Proto-Italic *ad
Proto-Italic *ad-
Medieval Latin ad-
Proto-Italic *kezdō
Medieval Latin cēdō
Medieval Latin accēdō
Proto-Indo-European *-tōr
Proto-Italic *-tōr
Medieval Latin -tor
Medieval Latin accessor
Proto-Indo-European *-yós
Proto-Italic *-ios
Old Latin -ios
Medieval Latin -ius
Medieval Latin accessōriusbor.
English accessory
From Medieval Latin accessōrius, from Latin accessor (“helper, subordinate”), from accessus. Compare access, from same root.
From Middle English accessorie, from Medieval Latin accessōrius, from Latin accessor (“helper, subordinate”), from accessus. Compare access, from same root.
affix
Borrowed from Latin affixus, perfect passive participle of affigere (from ad- + figere). By surface analysis, af- + fix.
Greek
Inherited from Old English Grēcas (“Greeks”), variant of Crēcas, from Proto-West Germanic *Krēkō, from Latin Graecus of uncertain origin, perhaps derived from the toponym Γραῖα (Graîa) or from other Paleo-Balkanic forms from a tribal name Graii.
Greek in any case has the cognate Γραικός (Graikós), the mythological ancestor of the Γραίοι (Graíoi, “Graecians”). Germanic cognates include Dutch Griek, German Grieche. The ⟨g⟩ in English and Germanic cognates was restored under influence from French grec and classical Latin Graecus. The adjective dates to 14th-century Middle English, replacing Old English Grēċisċ (“Greekish”) and earlier Middle English Gregeis. In reference to fraternities and sororities, a clipping of earlier Greek-letter in reference to their usual names being initialisms of mottos in the Greek language. In reference to terms used to analysize financial derivatives, from their usual names consisting of Greek letters.
accost
From Middle French accoster, acoster, from Old French acoster (“to stand beside”) (whence Medieval Latin accostare), from Old French a- + coste (“side, flank”).
accountant
From Middle English, from Middle French acuntant. Equivalent to account + -ant. First attested in the mid 15th century.
accredit
* First attested in the 1610s.
* From French accréditer, from à (“to”) + to credit, from crédit (“credit”).
* See credit.
accretion
PIE word
 *h₂éd
Learned borrowing from Latin accrētiō (“increase, increment”) + English -ion (suffix forming nouns denoting actions or processes, or their results). Accrētiō is derived from accrēscō (“to grow, increase”) + -tiō (suffix forming nouns denoting actions or processes, or their results); and accrēscō is from ac- (a variant of ad-, prefix meaning ‘to’, or having an intensifying effect) + crēscō (“to grow; to increase”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“to cause to grow; to grow; to nourish”)).
Doublet of accrue, crescent, and increase.
accrue
First attested in mid 15th century. From Middle English acrewen, borrowed from Old French acreüe, past participle of accreistre (“to increase”), from Latin accrēsco (“increase”), from ad (“in addition”) + crēscō (“to grow”). Compare accrete.
accumulate
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
Proto-Italic *ad
Proto-Italic *ad-
Latin ad-
Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *ḱuh₁mósder.?
Latin cumulus
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
Proto-Italic *-āō
Latin -ō
Latin cumulō
Latin accumulō
Latin accumulātusbor.
Middle English accumylaten
English accumulate
First attested c. 1487; from Middle English accumylaten, borrowed from Latin accumulātus, perfect passive participle of accumulō (“to amass, pile up”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), formed from ad (“to, towards, at”) + cumulō (“to heap”), from cumulus (“a heap”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French accumuler.
accumulation
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
Proto-Italic *ad
Proto-Italic *ad-
Latin ad-
Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *ḱuh₁mósder.?
Latin cumulus
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
Proto-Italic *-āō
Latin -ō
Latin cumulō
Latin accumulō
Proto-Indo-European *-tis
Proto-Indo-European *-Hō
Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō
Proto-Italic *-tiō
Latin -tiō
Latin accumulātiōder.
Middle French accumulationbor.
▲
Latin accumulātiōbor.
Middle English acumulacyon
English accumulation
From Middle English acumulacyon, from Middle French accumulation and its etymon, Latin accumulātiō, accumulātiōnis. By surface analysis, accumulate + -ion. First attested in the late 15th century. Doublet of accumulatio.
accumulator
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
Proto-Italic *ad
Proto-Italic *ad-
Latin ad-
Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *ḱuh₁mósder.?
Latin cumulus
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
Proto-Italic *-āō
Latin -ō
Latin cumulō
Latin accumulō
Proto-Indo-European *-tōr
Proto-Italic *-tōr
Latin -tor
Latin accumulātorbor.
English accumulator
From Latin accumulātor, agent noun of accumulō (“pile up”), accumulate + -or.
accusation
First attested in the late 14th century. Inherited from Middle English accusacion, borrowed from Old French acusacion (French: accusation), from Latin accūsātiō (“accusation, indictment”), from accūsō (“blame, accuse”). Doublet of accusatio. More at accuse. Equivalent to accuse + -ation.
accusative
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
Proto-Italic *ad
Proto-Italic *ad-
Latin ad-
Proto-Italic *kaussā
Old Latin caussa
Latin causa
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
Proto-Italic *-āō
Latin -ō
Latin accūsō
Proto-Indo-European *-wós
Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder.
Latin -īvus
Ancient Greek αἰτῐᾱτῐκή (aitĭātĭkḗ)calq.
Latin accūsātīvusder.
Anglo-Norman accusatifbor.
▲
Latin accūsātīvusder.
Middle French acusatifbor.
▲
Latin accūsātīvusbor.
Middle English accusative
English accusative
First attested in the mid 15th century. From Middle English accusative, from Anglo-Norman accusatif or Middle French acusatif or from Latin accūsātīvus (“having been blamed”), from accūsō (“to blame”). Equivalent to accuse + -ative. The Latin form is a mistranslation of the Ancient Greek grammatical term αἰτιᾱτική (aitiātikḗ, “expressing an effect”). This term actually comes from αἰτιᾱτός (aitiātós, “caused”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, adjective suffix), but was reanalyzed as coming from αἰτιᾱ- (aitiā-), the stem of the verb αἰτιάομαι (aitiáomai, “to blame”), + -τῐκός (-tĭkós, verbal adjective suffix).
accuse
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
Proto-Italic *ad
Proto-Italic *ad-
Latin ad-
Proto-Italic *kaussā
Old Latin caussa
Latin causa
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
Proto-Italic *-āō
Latin -ō
Latin accūsārelbor.
Old French acuserbor.
Middle English acusen
English accuse
First attested around 1300. From Middle English acusen, from Old French acuser, from Latin accūsō (“to call to account, accuse”), from ad (“to”) + causa (“cause, lawsuit, reason”). Akin to cause. Displaced native English bewray.
accustom
The verb is from Middle English accustomen, from Old French acoustumer, acustumer (Modern French accoutumer) corresponding to a (“to, toward”) + custom. More at custom, costume.
The noun is from Middle English acustom.
Anguilla
Borrowed from Latin anguilla (“eel”), from an uncertain Romance language original. The name of the island refers to its elongated shape.
Barbados
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰers-?
Proto-Indo-European *bʰardʰéh₂der.
Proto-Indo-European *-tosder.
Proto-Indo-European *bʰardʰéh₂tos
Proto-Italic *farβātos
Latin barbātus
Portuguese barbadoder.
Portuguese barbadosbor.
English Barbados
From Portuguese barbados (“bearded ones”), from barba (“beard”), due to the dense hanging moss or vines in the island.
Burkina Faso
From Moore burkĩna (“honest”) + Dyula faso (“father's house”), coined by Thomas Sankara. Roughly translatable as "fatherland of the upright people".
Benin
Etymology tree
Proto-Yoruboid *ú-lí
Yoruba ileder.
Yoruba ì-
Yoruba bí
Proto-Edekiri *ɪ́-nʊ̃́
Proto-Edekiri *ɪ́-lʊ̃́
Yoruba inú
Yoruba ibinuder.
Yoruba ile ibinubor.
Itsekiri Ubinubor.
Portuguese Benimbor.
English Benin
From Portuguese Benim, from Itsekiri Ubinu. The term is first documented in the late 1490s upon Portuguese contact with the Itsekiri Kingdom. The etymology is unclear; it appears Benin was always used as an exonym (probably by the Itsekiri and Yoruba) for the Benin Kingdom, which was always referred to as Ẹ̀dó, and older Ìgòdòmigòdò. The leading hypothesis is that the term originally derived from Yoruba ilẹ̀ ìbínú (“land of anger”), which emerges from a folk myth regarding purported founder of the Benin empire, Oranmiyan, who was a Yoruba prince, who referred to the region by this phrase because of his frustration in ruling the land.
Brunei
From Malay Brunei, probably ultimately from Sanskrit वरुण (váruṇa), which also referred to the island of Borneo (a likely cognate to Brunei).
Belarus
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-
Proto-Slavic *bělъ
Old East Slavic бѣлъ (bělŭ)der.
Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁-der.
Proto-Germanic *rōþruz?
Old East Norse *rōþs-bor.
Proto-Finnic *rooccibor.
Old East Slavic Русь (Rusĭ)der.
Old East Slavic Бѣла Русь (Běla Rusĭ)bor.
Belarusian Бе́лая Русь (Bjélaja Rusʹ)der.
Belarusian Белару́сь (Bjelarúsʹ)bor.
English Belarus
Borrowed from Belarusian Белару́сь (Bjelarúsʹ), from historical Бе́лая Русь (Bjélaja Rusʹ, “White Ruthenia or White Rus”).
Uzbekistan
From Russian Узбекистан (Uzbekistan), itself from Classical Persian اُزْبَکِسْتَان (uzbakistān). Ultimately uncertain; possibly from Turkic uz (“genuine”) + Sogdian [Term?] (/⁠bek⁠/, “master”) (for the second element, see Turkish bey). The suffix is known to be from Classical Persian ـِستان (istān, “place of”). By surface analysis, Uzbek + -i- + -stan.
Tuvalu
From Tuvaluan Tuuvalu (literally “eight standing together”) in reference to the eight inhabited islands of Tuvalu, although Tuvalu consists of nine islands. The ninth island, Niulakita, was inhabited in 1949. Compare to Proto-Austronesian *walu (“eight”).
Turkmenistan
From Turkmen Türkmenistan, from Türkmen (“Turk-like; Turkmen”) + Classical Persian ـستان (-istān, “-stan”). By surface analysis, Turkmen + -istan.
ace
Inherited from Middle English as, from Old French as, from Latin as, assis (“unity, copper coin, the unit of coinage”), probably borrowed from Etruscan. Doublet of as.
acerbity
Borrowed from French acerbité, from Latin acerbitās (“acerbity; harshness”), from acerbus (“bitter”). See acerb.
acerbate
From Latin acerbātus, perfect passive participle of acerbō (“make bitter”), from acerbus (“bitter”).
acetylene
Etymology tree
French acétylènebor.
English acetylene
Borrowed from French acétylène, coined by French chemist Marcellin Berthelot, from acetyl + -ene.
ache
From Middle English aken (verb), and ache (noun), from Old English acan (verb) (from Proto-West Germanic *akan, from Proto-Germanic *akaną (“to ache”)) and æċe (noun) (from Proto-West Germanic *aki, from Proto-Germanic *akiz).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian eeke, ääke (“to ache, fester”), Low German aken, achen, äken (“to hurt, ache”), German Low German Eek (“inflammation”), North Frisian akelig, æklig (“terrible, miserable, sharp, intense”), West Frisian aaklik (“nasty, horrible, dismal, dreary”), Dutch akelig (“nasty, horrible”).
The verb was originally strong, conjugating for tense like take (e.g. I ake, I oke, I have aken), but gradually became weak during Middle English; the noun was originally pronounced as /eɪt͡ʃ/ as spelled (compare breach, from break). Historically the verb was spelled ake, and the noun ache (even after the form /eɪk/ started to become common for the noun; compare again break which is now also a noun). The verb came to be spelled like the noun when lexicographer Samuel Johnson mistakenly assumed that it derived from Ancient Greek ἄχος (ákhos, “pain”) due to the similarity in form and meaning of the two words.
From Middle English ache, from Old French ache, from Latin apium (“celery”). Reinforced by modern French ache.
achieve
From Middle English achieven, acheven, from Anglo-Norman achever, Old French achever, achiever et al., apparently from Late Latin *accapāre, from ad (“to”) + caput (“head”) + -ō (verbal suffix), or alternatively a construction based on Old French chief (“head”). Compare Catalan, Occitan, Portuguese and Spanish acabar, French achever.
Achilles
Borrowed from Latin Achillēs, from Ancient Greek Ἀχιλλεύς (Akhilleús).
acidify
From acid + -ify, from Latin acidus (“sour, acid”); compare French acidifier.
poison
From Middle English poysoun, poyson, pusoun, from Old French poison, poisun, from Latin pōtiōnem (“drink, a draught, a poisonous draught, a potion”), from pōtō (“to drink”). See also potion and potable (from the same root). Mostly displaced native Old English ātor. See more at atter.
quotation
The obsolete sense of “quota”, from Medieval Latin quotātiō, from Latin quotāre, is attested from the 15th century. The sense “fragment of verbal expression”, attested from the 17th century, may come from this source, or else from the verb quote + -ation.
general
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *-os
Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os
Proto-Italic *genos
Latin genus
Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.?
Proto-Italic *-ālis
Latin -alis
Latin generālisbor.
Anglo-Norman generalbor.
Middle French generalbor.
▲
Latin generālisder.
Middle English general
English general
From Middle English general, in turn from Anglo-Norman general, generall, Middle French general, and their source, Latin generālis, from genus (“class, kind”) + -ālis (“-al”).
choir
From Middle English quer, quere, from Old French quer, from Latin chorus, from Ancient Greek χορός (khorós, “company of dancers or singers”). Modern spelling influenced by chorus and French chœur. Doublet of quire, chorus, and hora.
From Mongolian Чойр (Čojr).