MarcusBennevall/EtymologyTaggerDataset huggingface dataset:
mime
Possibly from Middle English *mime, from Old English mīma (“a buffoon, jester, mime”), from Latin mimus, from Ancient Greek μῖμος (mîmos, “imitator, actor”), but more likely re-borrowed in modern times from French mime (“mimic actor”), from the same source.
mindful
From Middle English myndeful, myndefull, from Old English ġemyndful (“of good memory”), equivalent to mind + -ful.
mirth
From Middle English merth, myrthe, murhthe, from Old English myrġþ (“mirth, joy”), from Proto-West Germanic *murgiþu (“briefness, brevity”); equivalent to merry + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Middle Dutch merchte (“pleasure, joy, delight”).
misery
From Middle English miserie, from Old French miserie (modern: misère), from Latin miseria, from miser, equivalent to miser + -y. Doublet of misère and mizeria.
misshapen
Inherited from Middle English mysshapen, misse shapen, mysshape, mysshap; equivalent to mis- + shapen.
From Middle English (attested as mysshapend). Probably partly from the adjective and partly from mis- + shapen (verb), though shapen is attested later.
mite
From Middle English mite, from Old English mīte (“mite, tiny insect”), from Proto-West Germanic *mītā, from Proto-Germanic *mītǭ (“biting insect”, literally “cutter”), from *maitaną (“to cut”), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“small”) or *meh₂y- (“to cut”). Akin to Old High German mīza (“mite”), Middle Dutch mīte (“moth, mite”), Dutch mijt (“moth, mite”), Danish mide (“mite”).
morass
From Dutch moeras (“marsh, swamp”), an alteration (with influence from Dutch moer (“moor”)) of a direct descendant of Middle Dutch marasch (“marsh”). The Middle Dutch word is a borrowing from Old French mareis, from Proto-West Germanic *marisk. Doublet of marish and marsh, and linked in part to moor. Compare quagmire.
moreover
Inherited from Middle English moreover, moreovere, morover, mooreover, more-overe, mare over, equivalent to more + over.
mother-of-pearl
Calque of Latin māter perlārum, with the first element perhaps connected in popular imagination with obsolete mother (“dregs”). Possibly referring to the fact that the nacre-lined shells are the belly (“mother”) in which pearls are produced.
motive
Etymology tree
Anglo-Norman motifder.
Middle French motifder.
Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁-der.
Proto-Italic *moweō
Late Latin moveō
Late Latin mōtus
Proto-Indo-European *-wós
Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder.
Late Latin -īvus
Late Latin mōtīvumder.
Middle English motif
English motive
From Middle English motif, from Anglo-Norman motif, Middle French motif, and their source, Late Latin motivum (“motive, moving cause”), neuter of motivus.
mound
From earlier meaning "hedge, fence", from Middle English mound, mund (“protection, boundary, raised earthen rampart”), from Old English mund (“hand, hand of protection, protector, guardianship”), from Proto-West Germanic *mundu, from Proto-Germanic *mundō (“hand”), *munduz (“protection, patron”), from Proto-Indo-European *mh₂-nt-éh₂ (“the beckoning one”), from *(s)meh₂- (“to beckon”).
Cognate with Old Frisian mund (“guardianship”), Middle Dutch mond (“protection”), Old High German munt (“hand, protection”) German Mündel (“ward”), Vormund (“guardian”)), Icelandic and Old Norse mund (“hand”), and possibly Latin manus (“hand”), Ancient Greek μάρη (márē, “hand”). Not related to mount.
muster
From Middle English musteren, borrowed from Anglo-Norman mostrer, Middle French monstrer, moustrer (whence the noun monstre, which gave the English noun), from Latin mōnstrō (“to show”), from moneō (“to admonish”). Cognate with French montrer (“to show”), Italian mostrare (“to show”), Spanish mostrar (“to show”). See also monster.
mutter
From Middle English muteren, moteren, of imitative origin.
Compare Low German mustern, musseln (“to whisper”), German muttern (“to mutter; whisper”), Old Norse muðla (“to murmur”). Compare also Latin muttīre, mutīre.
From Hindi मटर (maṭar).
myrmidon
From Myrmidon, from Latin Myrmidones, from Ancient Greek Μυρμιδόνες (Murmidónes).
From Latin Myrmidones, from Ancient Greek Μυρμιδόνες (Murmidónes), a tribe of warriors led by Achilles to the Trojan War. Folk etymology in Ovid's time derived the tribe's name from μυρμηδών (murmēdṓn, “ant-nest”), from μύρμηξ (múrmēx, “ant”)).
myth
From Ancient Greek μῦθος (mûthos, “word, humour, companion, speech, account, rumour, fable”). Attested in English since 1830. Doublet of mythos.
nacre
Borrowed from Middle French nacre, from Medieval Latin nacchara, ultimately derived from Arabic نَقَّارَة (naqqāra). Doublet of nagara, nagada, and naqareh. Also present in nacarat.
nag
From Middle English nagg, nage, nagge (“horse, small riding horse, pony”), cognate with Dutch negge, neg (“horse”), German Nickel (“small horse”). Perhaps related to English neigh.
Probably from a North Germanic source; compare Swedish nagga (“to gnaw, grumble”), Danish nage (“to nag, bother”), Icelandic nagga (“to complain”).
Compare typologically fret, Bulgarian глождя (gloždja), Russian глода́ть (glodátʹ), грызть (gryztʹ), по́едом есть (pójedom jestʹ), е́дкий (jédkij).
nanny
From nan (“grandmother; nursemaid”) + -y. The root is from nana (“grandma; nanny”), which is from nanna (“grandmother”), which is possibly derived from Proto-Celtic *nana (“grandmother”). See also Proto-Brythonic *nanī, Welsh nain (“grandmother”), Galician nana (“mama”), Spanish nana (“granny; nanny; mommy; housekeeper”), Sicilian nanna (“grandma”), Italian nonna (“granny”), Late Latin nonna (“nun; tutoress; old woman”), Norman nonne (“nun”), Old French nonain (“nun”). All probably ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root imitative of a child babbling, similar to Ancient Greek νάννα (nánna).
(1795) It has often been assumed that the English term was originally a widespread child's word for "female adult other than mother" (compare Greek νάννα (nánna, “aunt”), nanna).
On the other hand, according to recent research of the Dutch historical linguists Hans Beelen and Nicoline van der Sijs (published in Onze Taal, September 2018), on which see also etymologiebank.nl, in Dutch), the term nanny (and the British colloquial nan for "grandmother") may actually be eponymous, viz. being originally an affective form (i.e. a hypocoristic) of the popular female name Anne. The Dutch statesman and scientist Constantijn Huygens Jr. made the following observation during one of his many sojourns in England (noted in his Journaal, dated 13 December 1692): "Yesterday I received 10lb of chocolate again, from niece Becker, and she had Nanny, her maid, bringing me the money that she had owed me" (Gisteren kreegh 10 ℔ choccolate wederom van nicht Becker, en had Nanny, haer meidt, geweest om mij 't geldt, dat van haer hebben most, te brengen). Beelen and van der Sijs therefore assumed that "since many female domestic servants were named "Nan" or "Nanny", the name became a sobriquet for the profession of "maid, childminder" in the 18ᵗʰ century". ("Omdat veel vrouwelijke huisbedienden in het Engels de voornaam Nan of Nanny hadden, verschoof de betekenis in de achttiende eeuw naar die van een beroepsaanduiding: ‘meid, kindermeisje’")
neat
From Middle English nete, net, nette, from Anglo-Norman neit (“good, desirable, clean”), a variant of Old French net, nette (“clean, clear, pure”), from Latin nitidus (“gleaming”), derived from nitēre (“to shine”). Doublet of net and nitid. Cognate with German nett (“nice, kind”). Compare also nait.
From Middle English nete, neat, from Old English nēat (“animal, beast, ox, cow, cattle”), from Proto-West Germanic *naut, from Proto-Germanic *nautą (“foredeal, profit, property, livestock”), from Proto-Indo-European *newd- (“to acquire, make use of”). Cognate with Dutch noot (“cow, cattle”, in compounds), dialectal German Noß (“livestock”), Alemannic German Nooss (“young sheep or goat”), Swedish nöt (“cattle”), Icelandic naut (“cattle, bull”) and Faroese neyt (“cattle”). More at note.
English metonymic occupational surname for a herdsman or a nickname for someone thought to resemble an ox or a cow, from Middle English neat (“ox, cow”), from Old English neat.
neb
From Middle English neb, from Old English nebb (“beak, nose, face”), from Proto-Germanic *nabją (“beak, nose”). Cognate with Danish næb, Dutch neb, German Schnabel, Old Norse nef, Swedish näbb, Swedish regional näv.
necessity
From Middle English necessite, from Old French necessite, from Latin necessitās (“unavoidableness, compulsion, exigency, necessity”), from necesse (“unavoidable, inevitable”); see necessary. Doublet of Necessitas.
needs
From Middle English nedes (“of necessity, necessarily; inevitably, unavoidably”) [and other forms], from Old English nēdes, nīedes (“of necessity; not willingly”), from nīed + -es (suffix forming adverbs from nouns).
The English word is equivalent to need + -'s (possessive marker) and hence to need + -s (suffix forming adverbs).
node
From Middle English node, borrowed from Latin nōdus. Doublet of knot, knout, and nodus.
nourish
From Middle English norischen, from Old French nouriss-, stem of one of the conjugated forms of norrir, from Latin nutriō (“to suckle, feed, foster, nourish, cherish, preserve, support”).
nullification
Borrowed from Late Latin nullificatio, from nullifico, equivalent to null + -ification.
nurture
From Middle English norture, noriture, from Old French norriture, norreture, from Late Latin nutritura (“nourishment”), from Latin nutrire (“to nourish”).
obstinate
Inherited from Middle English obstinat(e) (“obstinate, stubborn”), from Latin obstinātus, perfect passive participle of obstinō (“set one's mind firmly upon, resolve”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ob (“before”) + *stinare, from stare (“to stand”). Doublet of ostinato.
obstreperous
Borrowed from Latin obstreperus, first attested circa 17th c. Compare obstropulous.
official
From Middle English official, from Old French official, from Latin officiālis, from Latin officium (“duty, service”), by surface analysis, office + -ial.
onslaught
From on- + slaught. Formed after Middle Dutch aenslag, aenslach, equivalent to aen + slag, although slaught corresponds to Middle Dutch slacht; slag is cognate with the English weaving term sley. Compare Dutch aanslag and German Anschlag.
ophidian
From Latin ophidia (from Ancient Greek ὄφις (óphis, “snake”)) + -ian.
originate
From Medieval Latin orīginātus, perfect passive participle of orīginō (“to begin, give rise to”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more), from orīgō (orīgin- in compounds) + -ō. Compare Italian originare and Spanish originar.
From Medieval Latin orīginātus, see Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more. By surface analysis, origin + -ate.
outwards
From Middle English outwardes, from Old English ūtweardes; equivalent to outward + -s or out + -wards. Cognate with German auswärts.
overreach
The verb is from Middle English overrechen (“to rise above; to extend beyond or over; to encroach; to catch, overtake; to reach; to obtain wrongfully (?); to take up (a book) to revise it”) [and other forms], equivalent to over- + reach; the noun is derived from the verb or from the phrase to reach over.
oyster
From Middle English oystre, from Old English ostre, reinforced or superseded by Anglo-Norman oistre, which is from Old French oistre, uistre (compare modern French huître); both lines (Old English and Old French) from Latin ostrea, from Ancient Greek ὄστρεον (óstreon). Doublet of ostro (“a purple dye”).
packer
From Middle English pakker, pakkere, packare, equivalent to pack + -er.
pallor
From Middle English pallour, from Old French palor (“paleness, pallor”), from Latin pallor, from palleō (“to look pale, blanch”).
paragon
Borrowed from Middle French paragon, paragone, from Old Italian paragone, from paragonare (“to test on a touchstone”), perhaps from Ancient Greek παρακονᾶν (parakonân, “to sharpen, whet”), from παρά- (pará-) + ἀκόνη (akónē, “whetstone, sharpening stone”), from ἀκή (akḗ, “point, edge”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”)).
parthenogenesis
From partheno- + -genesis, from Ancient Greek παρθένος (parthénos, “virgin”) and γένεσις (génesis, “origin, creation, generation”).
patrician
Borrowed from Middle French patricien, from Latin patricius, derived from patrēs cōnscrīptī (“Roman senators”).
May also have been derived from Latin patricius + -ian
partisan
From French partisan, from Italian partigiano (“defender of a party”), from parte (“part”). Doublet of partigiano. Attested in English from the late 15th century in the noun sense of "party adherent", and in related adjective senses from the 16th century. The "guerrilla fighter" sense influenced by Serbo-Croatian partizan, Russian партиза́н (partizán), from the same source.
The sense of "guerrilla fighter" is from c. 1690.
The adjective in the military sense dates from the early 18th century.
From French partizaine, from Middle French partizaine, partisanne etc., from Italian partigiana, related to Etymology 1 above (apparently because it was seen as a typical weapon of such forces).
pastime
From earlier passtime, pass-time, from Middle English passe tyme, passetyme, calque of Middle French passetemps.
pathway
From Middle English pathwei, equivalent to path + way. Cognate with German Pfadweg, Afrikaans padweg.
patrimony
From earlier patrimoyne, from patremoyne, from Middle French patrimoine/patremoine, semilearned borrowing from Latin patrimōnium, from pater (“father”) + -mōnium (“state, condition”). First attested in 1513. By surface analysis, patri- + -mony. Compare matrimony.
Displaced native Old English fæderġestrēon.
pave
From Old French paver (“to pave, to cover”), from Vulgar Latin *pavāre (“to beat down, to smash”), from Latin pavīre (“to beat, strike, ram, tread down”).
peak
From earlier peake, peek, peke, from Middle English pek (in place names), itself an alteration of pike, pyke, pyk (“a sharp point, pike”), from Old English pīc, piic (“a pike, needle, pin, peak, pinnacle”), from Proto-West Germanic *pīk, from Proto-Germanic *pīkaz (“peak”).
Cognate with Dutch piek (“pike, point, summit, peak”), Danish pik (“pike, peak”), Swedish pik (“pike, lance, point, peak”), Norwegian pik (“peak, summit”). More at pike.
* As an English surname, from several placenames in England derived from the noun peak or its source.
* Also as an English surname, shortened from Peacock.
* As an Irish surname, shortened from McPeak.
pearl
Inherited from Middle English perle, from Old French perle of uncertain etymology. Probably via unattested Medieval Latin *pernula, from Latin perna (“haunch; a marine bivalve shaped like a leg of lamb”) but also derived from Medieval Latin perla, from Latin perula (“little bag”). Its typographic use follows the name given by Jean Jannon to the type used in his miniature editions of Vergil, Horace, & the New Testament in the 1620s, which were the smallest printed works to his time. Its surfing use derives from the supposed resemblance to pearl diving.
From pearl.
* (river in China): From Chinese 珠江 (Zhūjiāng, Zyu1 Gong1, “Pearl River”); calque of Chinese 珠 (zhū, zyu1, “pearl”).
* (haven in Hawaii): From Hawaiian Wai Momi (“pearl water”); calque of Hawaiian momi (“pearl”).
peck
From Middle English pecken, pekken, variant of Middle English piken, picken, pikken (“to pick, use a pointed implement”). More at pick.
Probably from Anglo-Norman pek, pekke, of uncertain origin.
* As an English surname, variant of Speake with loss of the initial letter.
* Also as an English (and sometimes Irish) surname, variant of Peak, Petch, Peach.
* As a south German surname, variant of Beck. Compare Pek, also found in Poland.
* As a Dutch and north German surname, from pek (“pitch, tar, resin”).
* As a Hungarian, Czech, Polish, Serbo-Croatian and Slovene surname, Americanized and Germanized from Pek, Pék meaning "baker," itself ultimately from the German verb backen.
pecuniary
From Latin pecūniārius, from pecūnia (“money”), itself from pecū (“cattle”) and thus related to fee.
pedantry
From Italian pedanteria, equivalent to pedant + -ry. Compare also French pédanterie.
peek
From Middle English *peken, piken, pyken (“to peep”), probably a fusion of Middle English pepen (“to peep”) and keken, kiken (“to keek, look, spy”), equivalent to a blend of peep + keek. Perhaps also possibly a metathetic alteration of Middle English kepen, kipen, kypen (“to keep, look, observe, watch”).
peel
From Middle English pelen, from Old English pilian and Old French peler, pellier; both from Latin pilō, pilāre (“to remove hair from, depilate”), from pilus (“hair”). Doublet of pill.
From Middle English peel, pele, from Anglo-Norman pel (compare modern French pieu), from Latin pālus (“stake”). Doublet of pole and pale.
From Middle English pele, from Old French pele (modern French pelle), from Latin pāla, from the base of plangō (“fix, plant”). Doublet of pala.
From Old French piller (“pillage”).
Pegasus
From Late Middle English Pegase, Pegasus, from Latin Pēgasus, from Ancient Greek Πήγασος (Pḗgasos), traditionally associated with πηγή (pēgḗ, “spring, fountain, fountain fed by a spring”), especially used to denote springs of Ocean, where Perseus killed Medusa, from whose blood Pegasus sprang. Some have dismissed this as folk etymology and suggest a pre-Greek origin because of the -ασος suffix. First attested in the 14th century.
pell-mell
From French pêle-mêle, from Old French pesle-mesle, apparently a rhyme based on the stem of mesler (“to mix, meddle”). Compare meddle, melee.
pelt
The noun is inherited from Middle English pelt (“skin of a sheep, especially without the wool”); further etymology uncertain, possibly:
* from Middle English pellet (“skin of an animal, especially a sheep”), from Anglo-Norman pelette, pellet, and Old French pelete, pelette (“thin layer, film, skin; epidermis; foreskin”), from pel (“skin; garment made of animal skin, pelisse”) (from Latin pellis (“animal skin, hide, pelt; leather; garment made of animal skin”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to cover; to wrap; hide; skin; cloth”)) + -ete (diminutive suffix); or
* from Late Latin peletta, pelleta, pelletta (“skin of an animal, especially a sheep”).
The verb is derived from the noun.
Cognates
* Norwegian Bokmål pels (“fur; fur coat”)
* Norwegian Nynorsk pels (“fur; fur coat”)
The verb is derived from Late Middle English pelt, pelte; further origin uncertain, probably a variant of Late Middle English pilten (“to push, thrust; to strike; to cast down, humble; to incite, induce; to place, put; to extend, reach forward with”) [and other forms], possibly from Old English *pyltan, from Late Latin *pultiare, from Latin pultāre (“to beat, knock, strike”), the frequentative of pellere, the present active infinitive of pellō (“to drive, impel, propel, push; to hurl; to banish, eject, expel, thrust out; to beat, strike; to set in motion”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to beat; to drive, push”).
The noun is derived from the verb.
Uncertain; possibly related to pelting (“mean, paltry”) (obsolete), peltry (“rubbish, trash; an unpleasant thing”) (chiefly Scotland, obsolete), and paltry (“of little value, trashy, trivial; contemptibly unimportant, despicable”), possibly from a Germanic language such as Middle Low German palte, palter (“cloth; rag, shred”), from Old Saxon *paltro, *palto (“cloth; rag”), from Proto-Germanic *paltrô, *paltô (“patch; rag, scrap”). The ultimate origin is uncertain, but the word is possibly a wanderwort from *polto- (“cloth”).
A variant of pelta, borrowed from Latin pelta, from Ancient Greek πέλτη (péltē, “small crescent-shaped leather shield of Thracian design”); further etymology uncertain, perhaps either from Thracian, or ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to cover; to wrap; hide; skin; cloth”).
pend
Borrowed from Middle French pendre (“to hang”), from Late Latin pendĕre, from Latin pendēre.
perscrutation
From Latin perscrūtātiō, from the past participle stem of perscrūtor.
perforce
From Middle English par force, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French par force (“by force”).
peripatetic
From French péripatétique, from Latin peripatēticus, from Ancient Greek περιπατητικός (peripatētikós, “given to walking around”), from περιπατέω (peripatéō, “to walk around”), from περί (perí, “around”) (English peri-)+ πατέω (patéō, “to walk”).
From Latin peripatēticus, from Ancient Greek περίπατος (perípatos, “strolling, covered walk, conversation while walking”), from περιπατέω (peripatéō, “to walk around”), from περί (perí, “around”) + πατέω (patéō, “to walk”). Aristotle’s school was sometimes called the περιπατητικοί (peripatētikoí) "those who are prone to walking" or οἱ ἐκ τοῦ περιπάτου (hoi ek toû peripátou, “those from the walk”) in reference either to his supposed habit of teaching while traversing the περίπατοι (perípatoi, “walkways”) of the Lyceum or simply to the walkways themselves with which the school became associated.
philander
From the given name Philander, used as a name for flirtatious characters in several 18th century stories, from Ancient Greek Φίλανδρος (Phílandros), name of the mythological son of the nymph Acacallis and the god Apollo. Semantically disconnected from the adjective φίλανδρος (phílandros, “loving one’s husband; excessively attracted to males, slutty, boy crazy”).
phlegmatic
From Middle English fleumatik, flewmatik, flematik, fleumatyke, flewmatyk, from Old French fleumatique, from Latin phlegmaticus, from Ancient Greek φλεγματικός (phlegmatikós), from φλέγμα (phlégma), referring to the humour which ancient Hippocratic and later Galenic medicine associated with mildness, coldness, sluggishness, and indifference. Spelling later altered to resemble the word's Latin and Greek roots, with modern pronunciation following this new spelling.
physiognomy
Inherited from Middle English phisonomie, from Anglo-Norman phisenomie, Middle French phisonomie et al., ultimately from Late Latin physiognomia, from Ancient Greek φυσιογνωμία (phusiognōmía, “physiology”), from φύσις (phúsis, “physique, appearance”) + γνώμη (gnṓmē, “means of knowing”). Middle English phisonomie would regularly develop into *physnomy /ˈfɪznəmi/ (forms of this type are common in Early Modern English, such as fisnomie in All's Well that Ends Well); the modern spelling and pronunciation are due to learned influence.
planchette
Borrowed from French planchette. By surface analysis, French planche + -ette.
plaque
Unadapted borrowing from French plaque (“plate, sheet (of metal); slab (of marble); bacteria on teeth”), from French plaquer, Middle French plaquer (“to plate”), from Middle Dutch placken (“to patch, beat metal into a thin plate”), from placke (“disk, patch, stain”), from Old Dutch *plagga (“patch”), from Proto-Germanic *plaggą (“patch”).
The word is cognate with Middle Low German placke, plagge (“small stain, scraps, rags, thin grass”), German Placken (“spot, patch”), Saterland Frisian plak, plakke (“a blow, slap”), Swedish plagg (“clothing, garment”). Compare plack.
plash
From Middle English plasch, plasche, plash, plashe (“pool of standing water, marshy place; torrent of water (?)”), from Late Old English plæsċ, plesċ (“pool; puddle”), probably from Proto-West Germanic *plask (“pool”); further etymology unknown, probably ultimately onomatopoeic, referring to the sound of splashing.
cognates
* German platschen (“to splash”)
* Middle Dutch plasch, plas (“pool”) (modern Dutch plas (“pool, watering hole”), plassen (“to splash, splatter”); Middle French plache (“pool”), plascq (“damp meadow”); Anglo-Norman plasseis (“marshes”, plural))
* West Frisian plaskje (“to splash, splatter”)
The verb is derived from Late Middle English *plashen (attested by the present participle form plashynge), from Anglo-Norman plaissier, plaisser, Old French plaissier, plaisser, and Old French plaissier (“to bend; to interlace”) (modern French plaisser (regional)), from Late Latin *plaxus, a variant of Latin plexus, the perfect passive participle of plectō (“to braid, plait, weave; to bend; to turn; to twist”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- (“to fold; to plait, weave”). Doublet of pleach.
The noun is derived from the verb.
cognates
* Old French plesce (“enclosure surrounded by hedges”) (Middle French plesse, Middle English plaishes (“hedges forming an enclosure, palisade of hedges or wattles”), modern French plaisse, plesse (“enclosure surrounded by hedges; hedge; branch of a hedge”))