MarcusBennevall/EtymologyTaggerDataset huggingface dataset:
argument
Etymology tree
Latin arguō
Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥
Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom
Proto-Italic *-məntom
Latin -mentum
Latin argūmentumder.
Anglo-Norman arguementbor.
Middle English argument
English argument
From Middle English argument, from Anglo-Norman and Old French arguement, from Latin argumentum. The English word is analysable as argue + -ment. Doublet of argumentum.
Displaced native Old English racu and ġeflit.
Etymology tree
Latin arguō
Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥
Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom
Proto-Italic *-məntom
Latin -mentum
Latin argūmentum
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
Proto-Italic *-āō
Latin -ō
Latin argūmentorder.
Old French argumenterbor.
Middle English argumenten
English argument
The obsolete senses are derived from Middle English argumenten (“to argue, discuss; to consider, reflect”), from Old French argumenter (“to argue”), from Latin argūmentārī (“to adduce arguments or proof, prove, reason; to adduce (something) as argument or proof; to conclude”), from argūmentum (“argument (for a position); evidence, proof; point, theme; thesis, topic; plot (in theatre)”) (see further at etymology 1) + -or (the first-person singular present passive indicative of -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)).
The current sense is derived from the noun.
arm
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂er-
Proto-Indo-European *h₂érmos
Proto-Germanic *armaz
Proto-West Germanic *arm
Old English earm
Middle English arm
English arm
From Middle English arm, from Old English earm (Anglian arm), from Proto-West Germanic *arm, from Proto-Germanic *armaz (“arm”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂(e)rmos (“a fitting, joint; arm, forequarter”), a suffixed form of *h₂er- (“to join, fit together”).
Cognates
Akin to Dutch arm, German Arm, Yiddish אָרעם (orem), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish arm. Indo-European cognates include Latin armus (“the uppermost part of the arm, shoulder”), Bulgarian рамо (ramo), Polish ramię, Serbo-Croatian rȁme, Armenian արմունկ (armunk, “elbow”), Ancient Greek ἁρμός (harmós, “joint, shoulder”) and ἅρμα (hárma, “wagon, chariot”), Avestan 𐬀𐬭𐬨𐬀 (arma), Old Persian [script needed] (arma).
From Middle English arm (“poor, wretched”), from Old English earm (“poor, miserable, pitiful, wretched”), from Proto-West Germanic *arm, from Proto-Germanic *armaz (“poor”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁erm- (“poor, ill”).
Cognates
Akin to Dutch arm (“poor”), German arm (“poor”), Yiddish אָרעם (orem, “poor”), Swedish arm (“poor”).
Back-formation from arms (plural), from Middle English armes, from Old French armes, from Latin arma (“weapons”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er-mo-, a suffixed form of *h₂er- (“to fit together”), hence ultimately cognate with etymology 1.
art
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂er-
Proto-Indo-European *h₂értis
Proto-Italic *artis
Latin ars
Latin artemder.
Old French artbor.
Middle English art
English art
From Middle English art, from Old French art, from Latin artem, accusative of ars (“art”). Partly displaced native Old English cræft, whence Modern English craft. See also archaic English list (“art, craft, cunning, skill”).
From Middle English art, from Old English eart, second-person singular present indicative of wesan. Further etymology uncertain, see are. Cognate with Faroese ert and Icelandic ert.
as
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.?
Proto-Indo-European *h₂elnós
Proto-Germanic *allaz
Proto-West Germanic *all
Proto-Indo-European *swéder.?
Proto-Germanic *swa
Proto-West Germanic *swā
Proto-West Germanic *allswā
Old English eallswā
Middle English also
Middle English as
English as
From Middle English as, als(a), alswa, from Old English eallswā (“just so; as”), thus representing a reduced form of also. Compare German Low German a(l)s, German als, Dutch als.
Borrowed from Latin as. Doublet of ace.
From Arabic عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ (ʕalayhi s-salāmu, “peace be upon him”), placed after the name of holy persons in Islamic texts.
vocative
From Late Middle English [Term?], borrowed from Middle French vocatif, from Latin vocātīvus (“for calling”); a calque of Ancient Greek κλητῐκή (klētĭkḗ, “for calling; vocative case”) – from vocāre (“to call”), from Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ-, o-grade of *wekʷ- (“give vocal utterance, speak”). See Latin vōx.
moon
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *meh₁-?
Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s
Proto-Germanic *mēnô
Proto-West Germanic *mānō
Old English mōna
Middle English mone
English moon
From Middle English mon, mona, mone, monæ, moone, moyn, moyne, from Old English mōna (“moon”), from Proto-West Germanic *mānō, from Proto-Germanic *mēnô (“moon”), from Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s (“moon; month”), probably from *meh₁- (“to measure”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots muin, mune (“moon”), Yola mona, moone (“moon”), North Frisian moune, muun (“moon”), Saterland Frisian Moune (“moon”), West Frisian moanne (“moon”), Alemannic German Maan, manä, manòd, mànund, meini, moanu, Mond (“moon”), Bavarian mone (“moon”), Central Franconian Mond (“moon”), Cimbrian ma, maano, må (“moon”), Dutch maan, maen (“moon”), German Mond (“moon”), Limburgish maon, maond, moan, mond, Moën, Mǫnt, Mǫe̩nt, Mǫǫnt (“moon”), Luxembourgish Mound (“moon”), Mòcheno mu' (“moon”), Vilamovian mönd, mönt (“moon”), West Flemish moane (“moon”), Yiddish מאָנט (mont, “moon”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish måne (“moon”), Faroese and Icelandic máni (“moon”), Norn måni (“moon”), Crimean Gothic mine (“moon”), Gothic 𐌼𐌴𐌽𐌰 (mēna, “the Moon”); also Cornish and Welsh mis (“month”), Irish mí (“month”), Manx mee (“month”), Scottish Gaelic mìos (“moon; month”), Latin mēnsis (“month”), Umbrian 𐌌𐌄𐌍𐌆𐌍𐌄 (menzne, “Moon”), Greek μήνας (mínas, “month”), Albanian muaj (“month”), Latvian mēnesis (“month”), mēness (“moon”), Lithuanian mėnuo (“moon; month”), Belarusian and Russian ме́сяц (mésjac, “moon; month”), Bulgarian and Macedonian ме́сец (mésec, “moon; month”), Czech měsíc (“moon; month”), Polish miesiąc, mięsiąc, mniesiąc, niesiąc (“moon; month”), Serbo-Croatian ме̏се̄ц, мје̏се̄ц, mȅsēc, mjȅsēc (“moon; month”), Slovak mesiac (“moon; month”), Slovene mesec (“moon; month”), Ukrainian мі́сяць (mísjacʹ, “moon; month”), Armenian ամիս (amis, “month”), Avestan 𐬨𐬃𐬢𐬵 (mā̊ŋh, “month”), 𐬨𐬂𐬢𐬵𐬀 (måŋha, “moon”), Bactrian μαο (mao), μαυο (mauo, “month”), Central Kurdish and Southern Kurdish مانگ (mang, “moon; month”), Northern Kurdish meh (“month”), Ossetian мӕй (mæj, “moon; month”), Pashto مياشت (myâšt, “month”), Persian مه (mah), ماه (māh / mâh, “moon; month”), Tajik моҳ (moh, “moon; month”), Tocharian A mañ (“moon; month”), Tocharian B meñe (“moon; month”), Sanskrit मस् (mas), मास् (mās, “moon; month”). See also month, a related term within Indo-European.
The usage of "moon" to refer to the act reflected its use as a metaphor for the buttocks since 1743. It was popularised from American student slang in the 1960s.
[Alt: Refer to caption]
From Middle English Mone, mone, from Old English mōna, from Proto-West Germanic *mānō, from Proto-Germanic *mēnô, from Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s (“moon, month”), from *meh₁- (“to measure”). Doublet of Máni.
* A variant of Mohan, from Irish.
* A habitational name of Norman origin from Moyon in La Manche. Compare Mounce.
* Americanized form of German Mohn or a similar surname.
* A variant of Mun, from Korean.
* A variant Romanization of Chinese 文 (Wén), 萬 /万 (Wàn), and 滿 /满 (Mǎn).
* Possibly from Cantonese 滿 /满 (mun⁵, “full; complete”).
accident
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
Proto-Italic *ad
Proto-Italic *ad-
Latin ad-
Proto-Indo-European *ḱad-
Proto-Indo-European *-eti
Proto-Indo-European *ḱádeti
Proto-Italic *kadō
Latin cadō
Latin accidō
Latin accidēnslbor.
Old French accidentbor.
Middle English accident
English accident
First attested in the late 14th century. From Middle English accident, from Old French accident, from Latin accidēns, present active participle of accidō (“happen”); from ad (“to”) + cadō (“fall”). See cadence, case. In the sense “unintended pregnancy”, first attested in 1932.
adamant
From Middle English adamant, adamaunt, from Latin adamantem, accusative singular form of adamās (“hard as steel”), from Ancient Greek ἀδάμας (adámas, “invincible”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + δαμάζω (damázō, “to tame”) or of Semitic origin. Doublet of diamond.
adore
From Middle English *adoren, aouren, from Old French adorer, aorer, from Latin adōrō (“to pray to”), from ad (“to”) + ōrō (“to speak”).
advice
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
Proto-Italic *ad
Latin ad
Old French a
Proto-Indo-European *weyd-
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti
Proto-Indo-European *-yeti
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti
Proto-Indo-European *widéh₁yeti
Proto-Italic *widēō
Latin videō
Latin vīsus
Old French vis
Old French avisbor.
Middle English avys
English advice
From Middle English avys, from Old French avis, rebracketed from the phrase ce m'est a vis (“I think”, “it seems to me”, literally “it is to my view”), where vis is from Latin vīsus (“vision, sight”). The unhistoric -d- was introduced during the 15th century due to influence from advise and ad-, see advance. Doublet of aviso. See vision, and compare avise, advise.
Mostly displaced native Old English rǣd (see modern rede).
north
From Middle English north, from Old English norþ, from Proto-West Germanic *norþr, from Proto-Germanic *nurþrą, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nér (“below (the surface)”). The meaning developed either from "region where the sun is below (the earth)" or from "left side of someone who turns to the east when praying".
Cognates
Cognate with various Germanic counterparts such as Yola noardth, nordh (“north”), North Frisian noor, nord, nuurd, Nuurđ (“north”), Saterland Frisian Noude, Nudde (“north”), West Frisian noard (“north”), Dutch noord (“north”), German Nord (“north”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk nord (“north”), Faroese, Icelandic norður (“north”), Swedish nord, norr (“north”); also with Ancient Greek νέρτερος (nérteros), ἐνέρτερος (enérteros, “below”), Russian нора (nora, “hole”), Lithuanian nėrõvė (“mermaid, nymph”), Oscan 𐌍𐌄𐌓𐌕𐌓𐌀𐌊 (nertrak, “left”), Umbrian nertru (“left”), Sanskrit नरक (naraka, “hell”), Tocharian B ñor (“below”).
east
From Middle English est, from Old English ēast, from Proto-West Germanic *austr, from Proto-Germanic *austrą, from Proto-Germanic *austraz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwsteros (“east”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots aist (“east”), North Frisian uast, ååst, ööst (“east”), Saterland Frisian Aaste (“east”), West Frisian east (“east”), Dutch oost (“east”), German Ost (“east”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål øst (“east”), Faroese eystur (“east”), Icelandic austur (“east”), Norwegian Nynorsk aust, øst (“east”), Swedish ost, öst, öster (“east”); also with Avestan 𐬎𐬱𐬀𐬯𐬙𐬀𐬭𐬀 (ušastara, “eastern”), Latin auster (“south”).
south
Etymology tree
Proto-West Germanic *sunþ
Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥
Proto-Indo-European *sh₂w-én-s
Proto-Indo-European *-teros
Proto-Indo-European *sh₂ún-teros
Proto-Germanic *sunþraz
▲
Proto-Germanic *sunþraz
Proto-Germanic *sunþrą
Proto-West Germanic *sunþr
Old English sūþ
Middle English south
English south
From Middle English south, from Old English sūþ, from Proto-West Germanic *sunþr (“southern”), from Proto-Germanic *sunþrą (“south”), from Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ (“sun”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots sooth (“south”), Yola zouth (“south”), North Frisian sööd, Süđ, süüd (“south”), Saterland Frisian Sude, Suud (“south”), West Frisian súd (“south”), Dutch zuid (“south”), German Süd (“south”), Danish syd (“south”), Faroese, Icelandic suður (“south”), Norwegian Bokmål syd, sør (“south”), Norwegian Nynorsk sør (“south”), Swedish syd, söder (“south”); also with Irish súil (“eye”), Cornish howl (“sun”), Manx sooill (“eye”), Scottish Gaelic sùil (“eye”), Welsh haul (“sun”), Latin sōl (“sun”), Ancient Greek ἥλιος (hḗlios, “sun; east; day”), Czech slunce (“sun”), Polish słońce (“sun”), Russian солнце (solnce, “sun”), Serbo-Croatian сунце, sunce (“sun”), Slovene sonce (“sun”), Latgalian saule (“sun”), Latvian saũle (“sun”), Lithuanian sáulė (“sun”), Albanian diell (“sun”), Avestan 𐬵𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆 (huuar^ə, “sun”), Persian خور (xwar, “sun”), Ossetian хор (xor), хур (xur, “sun”), Sanskrit सूर्य (sūrya, “sun”), Tocharian A swāñce (“beam, ray”), Tocharian B swāñco (“beam, ray”).
west
PIE word
 *wek(ʷ)speros
From Middle English west, from Old English west, from Proto-West Germanic *westr (“western”), from Proto-Germanic *westrą (“west”), from Proto-Germanic *westraz (“west”), from Proto-Indo-European *wek(ʷ)speros (“evening”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots wast (“west”), North Frisian waast, weest, wäst (“west”), Saterland Frisian Wääste (“west”), West Frisian, Dutch west (“west”), German West (“west”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk vest (“west”), Faroese, Icelandic vestur (“west”), Swedish väst, väster (“west”); also with Irish feascar, feasgar (“evening; vespers”), Cornish gorthugher (“evening”), Manx fastyr (“afternoon, evening; vespers”), Scottish Gaelic feasgar (“afternoon, evening”), Latin vesper (“evening”), Ancient Greek ἕσπερος (hésperos, “evening; western”), Latvian vakars (“evening”), Lithuanian vakaras (“evening”), Czech, Slovak and Slovene večer (“evening”), Kashubian wieczór (“evening”), Polish wieczerz, wieczór (“evening”), Russian вечер (večer, “evening”), Serbo-Croatian вече, вечер, veče, večer (“evening”), Armenian գիշեր (gišer, “night”). Compare also Catalan oest (“west”), French ouest (“west”), Galician oeste, ueste (“west”), Italian ovest (“west”), Portuguese, Spanish oeste (“west”) (all ultimately borrowings of the Old English word).
* In most senses and as an English surname, by proprialization from west.
* As a Finnish surname, Americanized from Vesterinen.
karoshi
Borrowed from Japanese 過労死 (karōshi), from 過労 (karō, “overwork”) + 死 (shi, “death”). Doublet of guolaosi and gwarosa.
Korea
First attested as Core in the 1598 English translation of the 1596 Itinerario of Jan Huyghen van Linschoten, from the original Dutch Core, itself from Portuguese according to van Linschoten's account. The spelling Corea was more common in Early Modern English, likely through Core + -ia.
Ultimately a sixteenth-century borrowing by Europeans from some variety of Chinese. Compare Mandarin 高麗 /高丽 (Gāolí) but especially Hokkien 高麗 /高丽 (Ko-lê), which matches the Dutch-Portuguese vowels exactly.
These are Chinese pronunciations of Sino-Korean 고려(高麗) (Goryeo), Korea's official name between 918 and 1394 and still used by Chinese people to refer to the country for centuries thereafter; this itself being a shortening of 高句麗 (“Goguryeo”), an ancient Korean kingdom in the first millennium. Doublet of Goryeo, directly from Korean.
Some Korean authors claim an Arabic intermediary instead, but this is impossible because the actual medieval Arabic word for Korea was a variant of السيلى (al-sīlā, see also Silla).
boom
Onomatopoeic, perhaps borrowed; compare German bummen, Dutch bommen (“to hum, buzz”). The sense "a period of economic growth" is generally taken to derive from the sense "a rapid expansion", although other origins have also been suggested.
Borrowed from Dutch boom (“tree; pole”). Doublet of beam.
earth
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₁er-der.
Proto-Germanic *erþō
Proto-West Germanic *erþu
Old English eorþe
Middle English erthe
English earth
From Middle English erthe, from Old English eorþe, from Proto-West Germanic *erþu, from Proto-Germanic *erþō (“dirt, ground, earth”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁érteh₂ (“earth”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots erd, yerd, yird, yirth (“earth, loam, mould, soil; ground”), Yola eard, eart, eord, eorth, erth (“earth”), North Frisian eerd, eerde, iarde, Iart, iir, jard, örd, Öört (“earth; world”), Saterland Frisian Idde, Äid, Äide (“earth; soil; ground”), West Frisian ierde (“earth; soil; ground”), Alemannic German Ëërde (“earth”), Bavarian Erd, Erdn (“world; soil; ground”), Central Franconian Ääd (“earth”), Cimbrian èerda (“earth”), Dutch aard, aarde (“earth”), German Erde (“earth; soil; ground; world”), German Low German Eer (“earth”), Limburgish eerd (“earth”), Luxembourgish Äerd (“earth; soil”), Vilamovian Ād (“earth”), Yiddish ערד (erd, “earth; soil”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish jord (“earth”), Faroese jørð (“earth”), Icelandic jörð (“earth”), Norn yurn (“the earth”), Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌸𐌰 (airþa, “earth”); also Latin ōra (“border, edge, rim”), Breton erv (“ridge between furrows”), Welsh erw (“acre”), Ancient Greek ἔραζε (éraze, “to the ground”), Lithuanian erdvė (“expanse, space”), Albanian varr, vorr (“grave”), Tocharian B āre (“dust, loose earth”), Sanskrit उर्वरा (urvarā, “fertile soil, field yielding crops”), Hittite 𒅕𒄩𒀸 (er-ḫa-aš /⁠erḫaš⁠/, “border, boundary, line”).
Probably unrelated, but of unknown etymology, is Old Armenian երկիր (erkir, “earth”). Likewise, the phonologically similar Proto-Semitic *ʔarṣ́- – whence Arabic أَرْض (ʔarḍ), Hebrew אֶרֶץ (ʾereṣ) – is probably unrelated.
From Middle English erthe, from Old English eorþe, from Proto-Germanic *erþō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁er- (“earth”). More at earth.
snake
From Middle English snake, from Old English snaca (“snake, serpent, reptile”), from Proto-West Germanic *snakō (“slider, snake”), from *snakan (“to creep, slide”), related to Old High German snahhan (“to sneak, slide”). Compare also Proto-Germanic *snēkô (“creeper, crawler”).
Cognate with German Low German Snake, Snaak (“snake”), dialectal German Schnake (“adder”), Danish snog (“grass snake”), Swedish snok (“grass snake”), Norwegian Nynorsk snåk (“viper, adder”), Faroese snákur (“grass snake”), Icelandic snákur (“snake”).
ordinate
Partly inherited from Middle English ordinat(e) (adjective and participle), partly directly borrowed from Latin ōrdinātus, perfect passive participle of ōrdinō, see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3). Doublet of ordain.
Sense 5 of the verb is from a back-formation from ordination.
thick
From Middle English thikke, from Old English þicce (“thick, dense”), from Proto-West Germanic *þikkwī, from Proto-Germanic *þekuz (“thick”), from Proto-Indo-European *tégus (“thick”).
Cognates
Cognate with North Frisian sjok, tjok, tjuk, tschok (“thick”), Saterland Frisian tjuk (“thick”), West Frisian dik, tuuk (“thick”), Central Franconian deck (“thick”), Cimbrian dikh, dikhe (“thick”), Dutch dik (“thick”), German dick (“thick”), Luxembourgish déck (“thick”), Yiddish דיק (dik, “thick”), Danish tyk (“thick”), Elfdalian tiokk (“thick”), Faroese tjúkkur (“thick”), Icelandic þykkur (“thick”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk tjukk, tykk (“thick”), Scanian tjykker (“thick”), Swedish tjock (“thick”); also Cornish and Welsh tew (“thick”), Irish tiubh, tiugh (“thick”), Manx çhiu (“thick”), Scottish Gaelic tiugh (“thick”).
northeast
From Middle English northest, from Old English norþēast, equivalent to north + east.
southwest
From Middle English southwest, southewest, from Old English sūþwest and sūþanwestan, equivalent to south + west. Cognate with West Frisian súdwest, Dutch zuidwest, German Südwesten, Danish sydvest, Swedish sydväst.
By proprialization from southwest, which is equivalent to south + west.
* (Montreal): Calque of French Sud-Ouest.
* (United States of America): Ellipsis of American Southwest or Desert Southwest.
southeast
From Middle English southest, from Old English sūþēast, equivalent to south + east.
was
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes-
Proto-Germanic *was
Old English wæs
Middle English was
English was
From Middle English was, from Old English wæs, from Proto-Germanic *was, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂we-h₂wós-e from *h₂wes- (“to reside”), whence also vestal.
See also Scots was, West Frisian was (dated, wie is generally preferred today), Dutch was, Low German was, German war, Swedish var); also Kamkata-viri vos-, Sanskrit उवास (uvā́sa).
The paradigm of “to be” has been since the time of Proto-Germanic a synthesis of three originally distinct verb stems. The infinitive form be is from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to become”). The forms is and are are both derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”). Lastly, the past forms starting with w- such as was and were are from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes- (“to reside”).
wax
From Middle English wax, from Old English weax, from Proto-Germanic *wahsą, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *woḱ-so-.
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Woaks (“wax”), West Frisian waaks (“wax”), Dutch was (“wax”), German Wachs (“wax”), German Low German Wass (“wax”), Luxembourgish Wuess (“wax”), Vilamovian wāhs (“wax”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk voks (“wax”), Faroese vaks (“wax”), Icelandic, Swedish vax (“wax”); and with Lithuanian vaškas (“wax”), Proto-Slavic *voskъ (“wax”).
From Middle English waxen, from the noun (see above).
From Middle English waxen, from Old English weaxan (“to wax, grow, be fruitful, increase, become powerful, flourish”), from Proto-West Germanic *wahsan, from Proto-Germanic *wahsijaną (“to grow”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weg- (“to grow, increase”).
Cognate with Scots wax (“to grow”), West Frisian waakse (“to greaten”), Low German wassen, Dutch wassen (“to greaten”), German wachsen (“to greaten”), Danish and Norwegian vokse (“to greaten”), Swedish växa (“to greaten”), Icelandic vaxa (“to greaten”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌷𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wahsjan, “to grow”); and with Ancient Greek ἀέξειν (aéxein), Latin auxilium. It is in its turn cognate with augeo. See eke.
* As a German and Jewish surname, variant of Wachs.
* As an English surname, from the noun wax, compare Waxman.
laundry
From Middle English lavendrie, from Old French lavanderie, from Latin lavandaria. See launder.
what
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *kʷ-
Proto-Indo-European *kʷís
Proto-Germanic *hwat
Proto-West Germanic *hwat
Old English hwæt
Middle English what
English what
From Middle English what, from Old English hwæt (“what”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Germanic *hwat (“what”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷód (“what”), neuter form of *kʷós (“who”).
Cognate with Scots what, whit (“what”), North Frisian wat (“what”), Saterland Frisian wat (“what”), West Frisian wat (“what”), Dutch wat (“what”), Low German wat (“what”), German was (“what”), Danish hvad (“what”), Norwegian Bokmål hva (“what”), Swedish vad (“what”), Norwegian Nynorsk kva (“what”), Icelandic hvað (“what”), Latin quod (“what, which”).
Its use as a particle of contradiction or objection in colloquial Singaporean English is analogous to Cantonese 喎 /㖞 (wo³, etymology 2, sense 3). It is possible that this was historically reinforced by the dated use of what as a sentence-final question tag in British English.
left
From Middle English left, luft, leoft, lift, lyft, from Old English left, lyft (“weak, clumsy, foolish”), attested in Old English lyftādl (“palsy, paralysis”), from Proto-Germanic *luft-, from *lubjaną (“to castrate, lop off”) (compare dialectal English lib, West Frisian lobje, Dutch lubben), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lewp-, *(s)lup- (“hanging limply”). Compare Scots left (“left”), North Frisian lefts, leeft, leefts (“left”), West Frisian lofts (“left”), obsolete Dutch lucht, leftsch, lefts, lefs (“left”), dialectal Dutch loof (“weak, worthless”), archaic Low German lucht (“left”).
From Middle English left, variant of laft (“remaining, left”), from Old English lǣfed, ġelǣfed, past participle of lǣfan (“to leave”). More at leave.
From Middle English levit, ilevet, y-levyd, from Old English ġelȳfd, ġelȳfed, past participle of Old English ġelȳfan, lȳfan (“to allow, permit”), equivalent to leave (“to give leave to, allow, grant, permit”) + -ed.