MarcusBennevall/EtymologyTaggerDataset huggingface dataset:
shuttle
From a merger of two words:
* Middle English shutel, shotel, schetel, schettell, schyttyl, scutel (“bar; bolt”), from Old English sċyttel, sċutel (“bar; bolt”), equivalent to shut + -le
* Middle English shutel, schetil, shotil, shetel, schootyll, shutyll, schytle, scytyl (“missile; projectile; spear”), from Old English sċytel, sċutel (“dart, arrow”), from Proto-Germanic *skutilaz.
The name for a loom weaving instrument, recorded from 1338, is from a sense of being "shot" across the threads. The back-and-forth imagery inspired the extension to "passenger trains" in 1895, aircraft in 1942, and spacecraft in 1969, as well as older terms such as shuttlecock.
phoenix
From Old English and Old French fenix, from Medieval Latin phenix, from Latin phoenīx, from Ancient Greek φοῖνιξ (phoînix), from Egyptian b-n:nw*w-G31 (boinu, “grey heron”). Doublet of Bennu. The grey heron was venerated at Heliopolis and associated in Egypt with the cyclical renewal of life because the bird rises in flight at dawn and migrates back every year in the flood season to inhabit the Nile waters.
From Latin phoenīx, from Ancient Greek φοῖνῐξ (phoînĭx), Φοῖνῐξ (Phoînĭx).
map
Shortening or back-formation of Middle English mappemounde, mapemounde (“world map”), from Old French mapamonde, from Medieval Latin mappa mundī, compound of Latin mappa (“napkin, cloth”) and mundus (“world”). See mop for more on the first component. Doublet of mop, nape, and nappe.
index
From Latin index (“a discoverer, informer, spy; of things, an indicator, the forefinger, a title, superscription”), from indicō (“point out, show”); see indicate.
Afghan
Borrowed from Classical Persian افغان (afġān, “Afghan”), from Bactrian αβαγανο (abagano), first attested in the fourth century CE, most likely a compound of *apāka- (“distant, faraway”), from Proto-Iranian *Hápa, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hápa (“away”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó + *-āna (“ethnic group”), from Proto-Indo-European *-nós, thus: "people from a distant land". Various scholars have proposed Sanskrit etymologies since the nineteenth century (especially prior to the 2007 publication of earlier Bactrian attestations for the word), but linguist Johnny Cheung notes that these are "extremely difficult to reconcile" with recent evidence pointing to a Bactrian source.
Wales
From Middle English Wales, from Old English Wēalas, plural of wealh (“Celt, Welsh person”), from Proto-West Germanic *walh, from Proto-Germanic *walhaz (“Celt, Roman”). Compare the second element in Cornwall, and also Gaul.
Tokelau
Borrowed from Tokelauan Tokelau, from Tokelauan tokelau (“north wind”), from Proto-Polynesian *tokelau (“northwesterly”). Compare Māori tokerau (“north”); Rapa Nui tokerau (“wind”).
Tajikistan
From Classical Persian تَاجِیکِسْتَان (tājīkistān) (from which Tajik Тоҷикистон (Tojikiston)). By surface analysis, Tajik + -istan.
Turks and Caicos Islands
Turks from the Turk's cap cactus (Melocactus) that grows in the region + Caicos from Lucayan Taíno caya hico, meaning 'string of islands'.
Suriname
From English Surinam, from the name of the Surinen people, likely Lokono.
Somalia
Borrowed from Somali Soomaaliya, equivalent to Somali + -ia.
Sierra Leone
From Italian sierra (“mountain range”) + leone (“lion”) (via Venetian), itself from Portuguese Serra Leoa (“lioness mountains”), as the area was described to the rest of Europe by Venetian explorer Alvise Cadamosto; in reference to the Lion Mountains (named by Pedro de Sintra in 1462).
Sri Lanka
Borrowed from Sinhalese ශ්රී ලංකා (śrī laṁkā) / ශ්රී ලංකාව (śrī laṁkāwa), from Sanskrit श्री लङ्का (śrī laṅkā, literally “holy Lanka”).
storm
From Middle English storm (“disturbed state of the atmosphere; heavy precipitation; battle, conflict; attack”) [and other forms], from Old English storm (“tempest, storm; attack; storm of arrows; disquiet, disturbance, tumult, uproar; onrush, rush”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *sturm (“storm”), from Proto-Germanic *sturmaz (“storm”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)twerH- (“to agitate, stir up; to propel; to urge on”). Related to stir.
Cognates
* Danish storm (“storm”)
* Dutch storm (“storm”)
* German Sturm (“storm”)
* Icelandic stormur (“storm”)
* Low German storm (“storm”)
* Norwegian Bokmål storm (“storm”)
* Norwegian Nynorsk storm (“storm”)
* Scots storm (“storm”)
* Swedish storm (“storm”)
* West Frisian stoarm (“storm”)
The verb is derived from Middle English stormen (“of the wind: to blow violently; to cause to roll or toss”), from storm (noun) (see etymology 1) + -en (suffix forming the infinitives of verbs).
Compare Middle English sturmen (“to attack (someone) with great force”), from Old English styrman (“to rage, storm; to make a great noise, cry aloud, shout, storm”), from Proto-West Germanic *sturmijan (“to storm”), from Proto-Germanic *sturmijaną (“to storm”), from *sturmaz (“a storm”) (see etymology 1) + *-janą (suffix forming causatives from strong verbs, with a sense of ‘to cause to do [the action of the verb]’). The Middle English word did not survive into modern English.
The noun is derived from verb etymology 2, verb sense 2.3 (“to violently assault (a fortified position or stronghold, a building, etc.) with the aim of gaining control of it”).
Cognates
* Dutch stormen (“to bluster, storm”)
* German stürmen (“to rage, storm; to assault, attack”)
* Icelandic storma (“to storm”)
* Low German stormen (“to storm”)
* Swedish storma (“to bluster, storm”)
Russia
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁-der.
Proto-Germanic *rōþruz?
Old East Norse *rōþs-bor.
Proto-Finnic *rooccibor.
Old East Slavic Русь (Rusĭ)bor.
New Latin Russiabor.
English Russia
From Medieval Latin Russia, from Old East Slavic Русь (Rusĭ) (whence Arabic رُوس (rūs) and Byzantine Greek Ῥῶς (Rhôs)), which originally referred to a group of Varangians who established themselves near Kiev in the 9th century and ruled Kievan Rus; probably from Proto-Finnic *roocci, from Old East Norse *roþs- (“related to rowing”); related to Old Norse Roþrslandi (“the land of rowing”), an older name of Roslagen, where the Finns first encountered the Swedes. Ultimately from Old Norse róðr (“steering oar”), from Proto-Germanic *rōþrą (“rudder”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- (“to row”). By surface analysis, Russ + -ia. First attested in c. 1390s. Doublet of Rossiya.
Palau
Borrowed from Palauan Belau (“Palau”), traditionally derived from aidebelau (“indirect replies”) in reference to the island's creation story, or from beluu (“village”), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *banua (“inhabited land, territory”).
Niue
From Niuean Niuē (“behold the coconut palm”), from niu (“coconut”) + ē (“o (vocative particle)”).
Martinique
Named by Christopher Columbus after Saint Martin of Tours. The name is sometimes suggested to be a modification of a native Ta-Arawak (Taino or Kalinago) name Madinina (“island of flowers”) or Matinino (“island of women”).
Lesotho
From Sotho Lesotho (“Land of the Basotho (Sotho people)”).
Kyrgyzstan
From Kyrgyz Кыргызстан (Kırgızstan), from кыргыз (kırgız, “Kyrgyz”) + -стан (-stan, “-stan”). Equivalent to Kyrgyz + -stan. More at Kyrgyz.
Kazakhstan
Borrowed from Russian Казахста́н (Kazaxstán). Analyzable as Kazakh + -stan.
genome
From earlier genom, from German Genom, coined by German botanist Hans Winkler in 1920 as a blend of Gen (“gene”) + Chromosom (“chromosome”). By surface analysis, gen(e) + -ome, or a blend of gen(e) + (chromos)ome. Spelling altered to reflect the surface analysis.
gag
The noun is from Early Modern English gagge; the verb is from Middle English gaggen. Possibly imitative or perhaps related to or influenced by Old Norse gag-háls ("with head thrown backwards"; > Norwegian dialectal gaga (“bent backwards”)). The intransitive sense "to retch" is from 1707. The noun is from the 16th century, figurative use (for "repression of speech") from the 1620s. The secondary meaning "(practical) joke" is from 1863, of unclear origin.
money
Etymology tree
Latin Monēta
Latin monēta
Old French moneie
Old French monoie
Anglo-Norman muneiebor.
Middle English moneye
English money
From Middle English moneye, moneie, money, borrowed from Anglo-Norman muneie (“money”), from Latin monēta (“money, a place for coining money, coin, mint”), from the name of the temple of Juno Moneta in Rome, where a mint was.
In this sense, displaced native Old English feoh, whence English fee. Doublet of mint, ultimately from the same Latin word but through Germanic and Old English, and of manat, through Russian and Azeri or Turkmen.
* As an English surname, from the noun money. Compare Minter, Monier.
* As an Irish surname, variant of Mooney.
* As a French surname, variant of Monnet, itself a variant of Monet.
ask
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eys-
Proto-Indo-European *-sḱéti
Proto-Indo-European *h₂isḱéti
Proto-Germanic *iskaną
Proto-Germanic *aiskaz
Proto-West Germanic *aisk
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti
Proto-Germanic *-ōną
Proto-West Germanic *-ōn
Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn
Old English āscian
Middle English asken
English ask
From Middle English asken, axen, from Old English āscian, from Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eys- (“to wish; request”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian aaskje (“to ask, demand, require”), West Frisian easkje (“to ask, demand, require”), Dutch eisen (“to demand, require”), German heischen (“to ask, request, implore”), Russian иска́ть (iskátʹ), Sanskrit इच्छति (iccháti) (whence Hindi ईछना (īchnā).
From Middle English aske, arske, ascre, from Old English āþexe (“lizard, newt”), from Proto-West Germanic *agiþahsijā (“lizard”), a compound of *agiz (“snake, lizard”) + *þahsuz (“badger”). Cognate of German Echse (“lizard”).
From Old Norse Askr, from askr (“ash tree”).
Borrowed from Swedish Ask, from ask (“ash tree”), ultimately also from askr (“ash tree”). Doublet of Ash.
night
From Middle English nighte, night, nyght, niȝt, naht, from Old English niht, from Proto-West Germanic *naht (“night”), from Proto-Germanic *nahts (“night”), from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts (“night”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots nicht (“night”), Yola neeght, nieght, nyeght (“night”), North Frisian naacht, Nacht, noach, nåcht (“night”), Saterland Frisian Noacht (“night”), West Frisian nacht (“night”), Cimbrian and Dutch nacht (“night”), German and Low German Nacht (“night”), Luxembourgish Nuecht (“night”), Mòcheno nòcht (“night”), Vilamovian naocht (“night”), Yiddish נאַכט (nakht, “night”), Danish nat (“night”), Faroese nátt (“night”), Icelandic nátt, nótt (“night”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish natt (“night”), Scanian nøtt (“night”), Gothic 𐌽𐌰𐌷𐍄𐍃 (nahts, “night”); also Breton noz (“night”), Cornish and Welsh nos (“night”), Irish anocht (“tonight”), Manx noght (“tonight”), Scottish Gaelic a-nochd, an nochd (“tonight”), Latin nox (“night”) (whence English nox, a doublet), Greek νύχτα (nýchta, “night”), Albanian natë (“night”), Latgalian and Latvian nakts (“night”), Lithuanian naktis (“night”), Belarusian ноч (noč, “night”), Bulgarian нощ (nošt, “night”), Czech, Polish, and Slovak noc (“night”), Macedonian ноќ (noḱ, “night”), Russian ночь (nočʹ, “night”), Serbo-Croatian ноћ, noć (“night”), Slovene noč (“night”), Ukrainian ніч (nič, “night”), Tocharian A nakcu (“last night; at night”), Tocharian B nekcīye (“last night; at night”), Hittite 𒉈𒆪𒊻 (nekuz, “evening, nightfall; dawn, twilight”), Sanskrit नक्त् (nákt).
army
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂er-der.
Proto-Indo-European *h₂(e)rmosder.
Latin arma
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
Proto-Italic *-āō
Latin -ō
Latin armō
▲
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos
Proto-Italic *-ātos
Latin -ātus
Latin armātus
Anglo-Norman armeebor.
Middle English armee
English army
From (1386) Middle English armee, borrowed from Old French armee (cf. modern French armée), from Medieval Latin armāta (“armed force”), a noun taken from the past participle of Latin armāre (“to arm”), itself related to arma (“tools, arms”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to join, fit together”).
Doublet of armada. Displaced native Old English here and fierd.
win
From Middle English winnen, from Old English winnan (“to labour, swink, toil,”) (compare Old English ġewinnan (“conquer, obtain, gain; endure, bear, suffer; be ill”)), from Proto-West Germanic *winnan, from Proto-Germanic *winnaną (“to swink, labour, win, gain, fight”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to strive, wish, desire, love”).
Cognates
Cognate with North Frisian wan, wane, wen, wine, wune (“to win”), Saterland Frisian and West Frisian winne (“to win”), Cimbrian gabènnan (“to win”), Dutch and Low German winnen (“to win”), German gewinnen (“to win”), Luxembourgish gewannen (“to win”), Danish vinde (“to win”), Faroese and Icelandic vinna (“to win”), Norwegian Bokmål vinne (“to win”), Norwegian Nynorsk vinna, vinne (“to win”), Swedish vinna (“to win”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 (winnan, “to suffer”); also Latin venus (“beauty, charm, elegance, grace; beloved, love”), Albanian vuaj, vuj (“to suffer; to endure”), Sanskrit वनोति (vanoti, “to desire, like, love, wish; to gain, procure; to win; to prepare; to hurt, injure”).
From Middle English winn, winne, from Old English winn (“toil, labor, trouble, hardship; profit, gain; conflict, strife, war”), from Proto-Germanic *winną (“labour, struggle, fight”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to strive, desire, wish, love”). Cognate with German Gewinn (“profit, gain”), Dutch gewin (“profit, gain”).
From Middle English wynne, winne, wunne, from Old English wynn (“joy, rapture, pleasure, delight, gladness”), from Proto-West Germanic *wunnju, from Proto-Germanic *wunjō (“joy, delight, pleasure, lust”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to strive, wish, desire, love”).
Cognate with German Wonne (“bliss, joy, delight”), archaic Dutch wonne (“joy”), Danish ynde (“grace”), Icelandic yndi (“delight”).
Borrowing from Burmese ဝင်း (wang:)
drink
From Middle English drinken, from Old English drincan (“to drink, swallow up, engulf”), from Proto-West Germanic *drinkan, from Proto-Germanic *drinkaną (“to drink”), of uncertain origin; possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrenǵ- (“to draw into one's mouth, sip, gulp”), nasalised variant of *dʰreǵ- (“to draw, glide”).
Cognates
Cognate with Yola drink (“to drink”), North Frisian drank, drainke, drink, drinke (“to drink”), West Frisian drinke (“to drink”), Alemannic German trénge, trenhu, trinche, tringhien, trinke (“to drink”), Bavarian dringa, trinckn, trinkhn, trinkn (“to drink”), Cimbrian trinkan, trinkhan (“to drink”), Dutch and Low German drinken (“to drink”), German and Mòcheno trinken (“to drink”), Luxembourgish drénken (“to drink”), Yiddish טרינקען (trinken, “to drink”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål drikke (“to drink”), Elfdalian drikka (“to drink”), Faroese and Icelandic drekka (“to drink”), Jutish drenk (“to drink”), Norwegian Nynorsk drikka, drikke (“to drink”), Swedish dricka (“to drink”), Gothic 𐌳𐍂𐌹𐌲𐌺𐌰𐌽 (drigkan, “to drink”), Vandalic drincan (“to drink”), French trinquer (“to booze, drink alcohol”), Italian trincare (“to knock back (a drink)”), Spanish trincar (“to get drunk”).
Etymology tree
Proto-Germanic *drinkaną
Proto-Germanic *drunkiz
Proto-West Germanic *drunki
Old English drynċ
Middle English drink
English drink
From Middle English drink, drinke (also as drinche, drunch), from Old English drynċ, from Proto-Germanic *drunkiz, *drankiz.
Cognates
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Dronk (“drink”), Cimbrian gatrànkh (“drink”), Dutch drank, dronk (“drink”), German Getränk, trank, Trunk (“drink”), German Low German Drank, Drunk (“drink”), Vilamovian gytrenḱ (“drink”), Danish drik (“drink, beverage”), Icelandic drykkur (“drink, beverage”), Norwegian Bokmål drikk (“drink”), Norwegian Nynorsk drikk, drykk (“drink, alcohol”), Swedish dryck (“drink”), Gothic 𐌳𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌺 (draggk), 𐌳𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌺 (dragk, “drink”).
cow
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws
Proto-Germanic *kōz
Proto-West Germanic *kō
Old English cū
Middle English cow
English cow
Inherited from Middle English cow, cou, from Old English cū (“cow”), from Proto-West Germanic *kō, from Proto-Germanic *kōz (“cow”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws (“cow”).
Cognate with Sanskrit गो (go), Ancient Greek βοῦς (boûs), Persian گاو (gâv)), Latvian govs (“cow”), Proto-Slavic *govędo (Serbo-Croatian govedo, Russian говядина (govjadina, “beef”), Scots coo (“cow”), North Frisian ko, kø (“cow”), West Frisian ko (“cow”), Dutch koe (“cow”), Low German Koh, Koo, Kau (“cow”), German Kuh (“cow”), Swedish ko (“cow”), Norwegian ku (“cow”), Icelandic kýr (“cow”), Latin bōs (“ox, bull, cow”) (whence English beef), Armenian կով (kov, “cow”). Doublet of beef.
The plural kine is from Middle English kyne, kyn, kuin, kiin, kien (“cows”), either a double plural of Middle English ky, kye (“cows”), equivalent to modern kye + -en, or inherited from Old English cūna (“cows', of cows”), genitive plural of cū (“cow”).
Probably from Old Norse kúga (“to oppress”) (whence also Norwegian and Danish kue, Swedish kuva); compare Icelandic kúfa (“to set on top”) and Faroese kúga (“to oppress”).
Jupiter
From Latin Iūpiter (“father Jove”), from Proto-Italic *djous patēr (literally “sky father”) (cognate with Ancient Greek Ζεῦ πάτερ (Zeû páter, “father Zeus”)), from *djous (“day, sky”) + *patēr (“father”), from Proto-Indo-European *dyḗws (literally “the bright one”), from *dyew- (“to be bright, day sky”), and *ph₂tḗr (“father”). Doublet of Dyaus Pita.
reminiscent
From Latin reminīscēns, present participle of reminīscor (“remember”), from re- (“again”) + min-, base of me-min-isse (“to remember, think over”), akin to mens (“mind”); see mental, mind, etc.
koomkie
Borrowed from Bengali কুমকি (kumki), from Classical Persian کمک (kumak).
Congo
After Kongo, from Kongo nkongo (“hunter”). Compare Kongo dikongo (“spear”), Zulu umkhonto, Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀kóndó.
Croatia
Etymology tree
Proto-Slavic *xъrvatъder.
Ancient Greek Χρωβάτος (Khrōbátos)
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂
Proto-Hellenic *-íā
Ancient Greek -ία (-ía)
Ancient Greek Χρωβατία (Khrōbatía)bor.
Medieval Latin Croātiabor.
English Croatia
Borrowed from Medieval Latin Croātia, equivalent to modern Croat + -ia.
Dominica
Borrowed from Latin Dominica (“Lord's Day [Island], Sunday [Island]”) due to being sighted by Columbus on a Sunday.
Eritrea
Borrowed from Italian (l')Eritrea, first used in Italian as an ellipsis of la Colonia eritrea (“Italian Eritrea”, literally “the Erythraean colony”), from eritrea, feminine of eritreo (“Erythraean (of or relating to the Erythraean Sea)”), from Latin erythraeus (“reddish”), from Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός (eruthrós, “red”).
Fiji
Borrowed from Tongan Fisi (historically pronounced with a palatal affricate, IPA⁽ᵏᵉʸ⁾: [ˈfit͡ʃi]), itself borrowed from Fijian Viti, from Proto‐Central Pacific *viti ‘east, sunrise’. The English spelling ‘Fiji’ was popularized by Captain James Cook’s phonetic transcription of the 18th‐century Tongan pronunciation.
Georgia
A borrowing from Medieval Latin Geōrgia, itself a borrowing from Classical Persian گرج (gurj) (with influence from (sānctus) Geōrgius (“Saint George”), alluding to the saint's popularity in the country), from Middle Persian 𐭥𐭫𐭥𐭰𐭠𐭭 pl (wiruz-ān, “Iberians, Georgians”). The term's further history is unknown; it may ultimately be a derivation from Middle Persian 𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢 (gurg, “wolf”), though that would be phonologically challenging; compare Parthian 𐭅𐭉𐭓𐭔𐭍 pl (wiruž-ān), Old Armenian վիր-ք (vir-kʻ), Old East Slavic гурзи (gurzi). Replaced earlier Georgie, from the same source via a Middle French intermediary.
Early medieval sources hypothesize that the country was named after Saint George, while later European accounts connect the name with agricultural tribes called "Georgi" (from Ancient Greek γεωργός (geōrgós, “farmer”)) mentioned by classical authors (Pliny, IV.26, VI.14; Mela, De Sita Orb. i.2); neither of these etymologies is accepted today.
Latinate feminine form of George, from Ancient Greek Γεώργιος (Geṓrgios, “farmer”).
Guadeloupe
From French Guadeloupe, from Spanish Santa María de Guadalupe (The Virgin Mary named after the Spanish town of Guadalupe in Extremadura). Doublet of Guadalupe.
Jordan
From Latin Iordanēs, from Ancient Greek Ἰορδάνης (Iordánēs), from Biblical Hebrew יַרְדֵּן (yardén, “Jordan (river)”). Doublet of Yarden.
The area in Hong Kong is named after Jordan station, which is named after Jordan Road, which in turn is named after Sir John Jordan.
From Middle English jordan, from Latin jurdanus, unattested outside of England and of uncertain etymology. Usually derived from a clipped form of Jordan bottle, supposedly a bottle of curative water brought back from the River Jordan by Crusaders and pilgrims to the Holy Land, but this seems unsupported in its actual attestations. Its use for chamber pots may derive from the alchemical device having been used to hold urine.
Puerto Rico
Borrowed from Spanish Puerto Rico (literally “Rich Port”). In US English, the name is commonly pronounced and was formerly spelled Porto Rico; many other Spanish Puerto placenames were formerly also anglicized to Porto.
Myanmar
Borrowed, initially into British English, from Burmese မြန်မာ (mranma), the formal Burmese name of the main ethnic group in Myanmar; ဗမာ (ba.ma), from which Burma is derived, is the informal name. Both Burmese terms are also adjectives meaning "Burmese" (related to Myanmar/Burma, its, people, language, etc). Like in the word Burma, the r was not originally pronounced (and is not present in the Burmese term), it is a vowel-lengthening device used by non-rhotic (British) dialects; compare gorm.
Burma
Borrowed, initially into British English, from Burmese ဗမာ (ba.ma), colloquial form of မြန်မာ (mranma); see Myanmar for more. The r in Burma was not originally pronounced (and is not present in the Burmese term), the -ur- (alternatively also -ir-, though the spelling Birma is obsolete in English) is a device used by non-rhotic (British) dialects to represent the schwa found in the pronunciation of the Burmese colloquial form.
baby
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰā-
Proto-Germanic *bō-redup.
Proto-Germanic *babô
Proto-West Germanic *babō
Old English *baba
Middle English babe
Old English -iġ
Middle English -y
Middle English baby
English baby
From Middle English baby, babie (“baby”), a diminutive form of babe (“babe, baby”), equivalent to babe + -y/-ie (“endearing and diminutive suffix”). Perhaps ultimately imitative of baby talk (compare babble).
Two main origins:
* Borrowed from Malayalam ബേബി (bēbi), a surname typically found in Kerala.
* Borrowed from French Baby.
Jan Mayen
From Norwegian Jan Mayen, from Dutch Jan Mayen. Named after Dutch explorer Jan Jacobszoon May van Schellinkhout.
Svalbard
Borrowed from Old Norse Svalbarð n probably through Norwegian. From svalr (“cool”) + barð (“edge, brim”), thus roughly meaning “cold shore”, probably alluding to the treeless landscape mostly covered with grass.
The name was first attested in annales referring to year 1194, but it’s uncertain whether it referred to the modern archipelago.
Cognate with Faroese Svalbarð, Icelandic Svalbarði and Norwegian Svalbard.
yes
From Middle English yes, from Old English ġīese (“by all means, of course, yes”), derived from the same root as yea. Compare Faroese júsá (“yes, indeed, certainly”).
Saint Lucia
Named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse. Legend says that the French sailors were shipwrecked on the island on the feast of Saint Lucy (13 December) of 1502.
Wallis and Futuna
From the names of the territory's two largest islands, Wallis and Futuna. Wallis is named after Captain Samuel Wallis while Futuna is borrowed from East Futuna.
skirmish
From Middle English skirmish (as a verb), from Old French escarmouche (“skirmish”), from Italian scaramuccia, earlier schermugio. Doublet of escarmouche, Scaramouche, and Scaramucci.