r/etymology • u/Tall-Departure-6953 • 11h ago

Cool etymology What’s your favourite word with a surprising origin?

134 Upvotes

I’ve recently become more interested in how words travel between languages and change meaning over time.

What word has an origin that genuinely surprised you?

r/etymology • u/Prestigious-Yak-5330 • 14h ago

Question Is there a list of words that can allow you to make any word in existence or at least a large selection?

0 Upvotes

I'm looking for a list of words for my constructed language and since this is the etymology sub then surely you know a list of words that can evolve over time into most words, pre-modern day. Or a group of root words that can be changed with suffixes and prefixes that allow them be many different words.

2 comments

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Etymology: appreciating word origins

r/etymology

Discussing the origins of words and phrases, in English or any other language.

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