Beginning Syllables (and Etymology, work in Progress) Flashcards
build
byldan = (Old English)
bold / botl= dwelling (Old English)
Germanic
from Proto-Indo-European *bū-, Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁s-, and later Proto-Germanic *bōþlą (House, dwelling.)
building
builder
buy
Old English bycgan, of Germanic origin.
Proto-Germanic *bugjan
Middle English bien, from Old English bycgan (past tense bohte) “get by paying for, acquire the possession of in exchange for something of like value; redeem, ransom; procure; get done,”
buyer
buying
buoy
Middle English: probably from Middle Dutch boye, boeie, from a Germanic base meaning ‘signal’.
probably from Old French buie or Middle Dutch boeye, both of which likely are from Proto-Germanic *baukna- “beacon, signal”
built
buys
cent
late Middle English (in the sense ‘a hundred’): from French cent, Italian cento, or Latin centum ‘hundred’
center
late Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin centrum, from Greek kentron ‘sharp point, stationary point of a pair of compasses’, related to kentein ‘to prick’.
celery
mid 17th century: from French céleri, from Italian dialect selleri, based on Greek selinon ‘parsley’.
city
Middle English: from Old French cite, from Latin civitas, from civis ‘citizen’. Originally denoting a town, and often used as a Latin equivalent to Old English burh ‘borough’, the term was later applied to the more important English boroughs.
centipede
early 17th century: from Latin centipeda, from centum ‘a hundred’ + pes, ped- ‘foot’
circle
Old English circul, from Latin circulus ‘small ring’, diminutive of circus ‘ring’; subsequently reinforced by Old French cercle .
cell
Old English, from Old French celle or Latin cella ‘storeroom or chamber’.
Cecil
Cecil is the Anglicized form of the noble Welsh surname Seisyll, which comes from the Latin name Sextilius or Sextus, meaning “sixth.” It also comes from the Latin family name Caecilius, which is derived from the name Caecus, which means “blind.”
chicken
Old English cīcen, cȳcen, of Germanic origin
chop
late Middle English: variant of chap
“to cut with a quick blow,” mid-14c., of uncertain origin, not found in Old English, perhaps from Old North French choper (Old French coper “to cut, cut off,” 12c., Modern French couper), from Vulgar Latin *cuppare “to behead,” from a root meaning “head,” but influenced in Old French by couper “to strike” (see coup). There are similar words in continental Germanic (Dutch, German kappen “to chop, cut”).
chin
Old English cin, cinn, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch kin, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin gena ‘cheek’ and Greek genus ‘jaw’.
Old English word ceace, “jaw,” which probably stems from ceowan, “chew.”
chips
Middle English: related to Old English forcippian ‘cut off’.
chill
Old English cele, ciele ‘cold, coldness’, of Germanic origin; related to cold
chick
Middle English: abbreviation of chicken.
check
Middle English (originally as used in the game of chess): the noun and exclamation from Old French eschec, from medieval Latin scaccus, via Arabic from Persian šāh ‘king’; the verb from Old French eschequier ‘play chess, put in check’. The sense ‘stop or control’ arose from the use in chess, and led (in the late 17th century) to ‘examine the accuracy of’.
chest
Old English cest, cyst, related to Dutch kist and German Kiste, based on Greek kistē ‘box’.
chum
late 17th century (originally Oxford University slang, denoting a roommate): probably short for chamber-fellow .
chomp
U.S. regional variation of champ (verb), from Middle English champen, chammen (“to bite; gnash”).
champ
short for champion
Middle English (denoting a fighting man): from Old French, from medieval Latin campio(n- ) ‘fighter’, from Latin campus
cheese
Old English cēse, cȳse, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch kaas and German Käse ; from Latin caseus .
cheek
Old English cē(a)ce, cēoce ‘cheek, jaw’, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch kaak .
cheer
Middle English: from Old French chiere ‘face’, from late Latin cara, from Greek kara ‘head’. The original sense was ‘face’, hence ‘expression, mood’, later specifically ‘a good mood’.
choke
Middle English: from Old English ācēocian (verb), perhaps from cēoce (see cheek)
choose
Old English cēosan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch kiezen
chilly
Middle English chele, from Old English ciele (West Saxon), cele (Anglian) “cold, coolness, chill, frost, sensation of suffering from cold, sensation of cold experienced in illness,” from Proto-Germanic *kal- “to be cold,” from PIE root *gel- “cold; to freeze.” In modern use perhaps a back-formation from the verb.
children
Old English cild, of Germanic origin. The Middle English plural childer or childre became childeren or children by association with plurals ending in -en, such as brethren
chart
late 16th century: from French charte, from Latin charta ‘paper, papyrus leaf’
charm
Middle English (in the senses ‘incantation or magic spell’ and ‘to use spells’): from Old French charme (noun), charmer (verb), from Latin carmen ‘song, verse, incantation’.
chase
Middle English: from Old French chacier (verb), chace (noun), based on Latin captare ‘continue to take’, from capere ‘take’.
chain
Middle English: from Old French chaine, chaeine, from Latin catena ‘a chain’.
chair
Middle English: from Old French chaiere (modern chaire ‘bishop’s throne, etc.’, chaise ‘chair’), from Latin cathedra ‘seat’, from Greek kathedra .
cherry
Middle English: from Old Northern French cherise, from medieval Latin ceresia, based on Greek kerasos ‘cherry tree, cherry’. The final - s was lost because cherise was interpreted as plural
church
Old English cir(i)ce, cyr(i)ce, related to Dutch kerk and German Kirche, based on medieval Greek kurikon, from Greek kuriakon (dōma) ‘Lord’s (house)’, from kurios ‘master or lord’.
chime
Middle English (in the senses ‘cymbal’ and ‘ring out’): probably from Old English cimbal (see cymbal), later interpreted as chime bell .
child
Old English cild, of Germanic origin.
chalk
Old English cealc (also denoting lime), related to Dutch kalk and German Kalk, from Latin calx (see calx).
champion
Middle English (denoting a fighting man): from Old French, from medieval Latin campio(n- ) ‘fighter’, from Latin campus
China
Middle Kingdom
The Chinese word for China, Zhongguo, literally means ‘central state or states’ (there is no plural inflection in Chinese), giving rise to the poetic sobriquet “Middle Kingdom.” Thus, China is not the land of the Han or the empire of the Qin, but simply the country in the middle.
charcoal
The word “charcoal” has its roots in the Old French word “charbon,” which in turn comes from the Late Latin word “carbo,” meaning “a piece of burning wood or coal.” The Latin word “carbo” itself is believed to have been derived from the Proto-Indo-European root “ker”, meaning “heat”, “fire”.
chimpanzee
mid 18th century: from French chimpanzé, from Kikongo
Kongo or Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Angola. It is a tonal language. The vast majority of present-day speakers live in Africa.
chariot
late Middle English: from Old French, augmentative of char ‘cart’, based on Latin carrus ‘wheeled vehicle’.
chopsticks
late 17th century: pidgin English, from chop ‘quick’ + stick1, translating Chinese dialect kuàizi, literally ‘nimble ones’. Compare with chop-chop1.
Kuàizi” (筷子) is the Chinese term for chopsticks.
Charles
The name Charles is derived from the Old English word ceorl, meaning “free man.” The word ceorl was used to distinguish a free person from a bondsman or slave (thew) and a noble person (eorl). Origin: Charles is the French spelling of the Germanic name Karl (or Carl).
chorus
mid 16th century (denoting a character speaking the prolog of a play): from Latin, from Greek khoros .
chrome
early 19th century: from French, from Greek khrōma ‘color’ (some chromium compounds having brilliant colors).
chord
Middle English cord, from accord. The spelling changed in the 18th century to chord. The original sense was ‘agreement, reconciliation’, later ‘a musical concord or harmonious sound’; the current sense dates from the mid 18th century.
chameleon
Middle English: via Latin chamaeleon from Greek khamaileōn, from khamai ‘on the ground’ + leōn ‘lion’.
chef
early 19th century: French, literally ‘head’.
The most well-known use of chef comes from the French term “chef de cuisine,” which means director of a professional kitchen, or literally “kitchen chief.” In the 1800s, the English borrowed and shortened chef de cuisine to chef, which is the term that’s widely used in the English language today.
Charlotte
Charlotte is a feminine given name, a female form of the male name Charles. It is of French or Italian origin, meaning “free man” or “petite”.
Chicago
The most-accepted Chicago meaning is a word that comes from the Algonquin language: “shikaakwa,” meaning “striped skunk” or “onion.” According to early explorers, the lakes and streams around Chicago were full of wild onions, leeks, and ramps.
chute
early 19th century (originally a North American usage): from French, ‘fall’ (of water or rocks), from Old French cheoite, feminine past participle of cheoir ‘to fall’, from Latin cadere ; influenced by shoot.
chandelier
giant
giraffe
gem
gentle
gentleman
general
gerbil
germ
ginger
gender
ghost
ghetto
ghastly
gherkin
ghoul
aghast
ghostly
gnome
gnat
gnash
gnaw
gnu
gnomon
gnarled
gneiss
guess
guest
guard
guy
guitar
guinea pig
guarantee
guide
guilty
guardian
herb
herbal
hour
hourly
honest
honesty
honor
honourable
heir
heirloom
heiress
homage
knife
knee
knock
knapsack
know
knob
knight
knuckle
knave
knead
knickers
Knoxville
knot
knit
kneel
knack
phone
phrase
pheasant
Philip
photograph
quilt
quiz
quit
quack
quest
quick
quill
quite
quail
quake
queen
quiet
Rhonda
rhinoceros
rhinestone
rhyme
rhapsody
Rhode Island
rhizome
rhombus
rhubarb
rhesus
rhythm
rhododendron
scissors
science
scene
scenery
scenario
scepter
scent
scythe
scimitar
scenic
ship
shop
shut
shell
shelf
shed
she
sheep
sheet
shout
sharp
shark
shall
thumb
thin
thick
thud
thump
this
that
than
them
then
thus
the
thyme
Thomas
Theresa
Thailand
Thompson
Thames
when
whip
whiz
whiff
whisk
wheel
wheeze
which
whet
why
wharf
whether
whisper
whippet
whiskers
whinny
what
where
who
whom
whose
whoever
whomever
whole
wren
wrap
wrong
wreck
wrath
wry
wriggle
write
wrote
wreath
wrist
wring
writhe
wretch
wrinkle
written
wrapper
wrench
writer
wrestle
wrought
xylophone
xanthin
xanthophyll
xebec
xenolith
xenon
xerosis
xiphoid
xylem
xylene
