Etymology dictionary
Hindu (n.) — hoarding (n.)
Hindu (n.)
1660s, from Persian Hindu (adjective and noun) "Indian," from Hind "India," from Sanskrit sindhu "river," meaning here the Indus; hence "region of the Indus," the sense then gradually was extended by invading peoples to encompass all northern India. "Properly, one of the native race in India descended from the Aryan conquerors. ... More loosely, the name includes also the non-Aryan inhabitants of India" [Century Dictionary, 1902]. As an adjective from 1690s. The Hindu Kush mountain range is said to mean literally "Indian killer," and was said to have been the name given by the Persians to a pass where their Indian slaves had perished in winter, but this likely is folk etymology.
Hinduism (n.)
blanket term for "polytheism of India," 1786, from Hindu + -ism.
Hindustan
1610s, from Persian, literally "country of the Hindus;" see Hindu + -stan. Related: Hindustani, the old name for Urdu.
hine
see hin.
hinge (v.)
c. 1600, "to bend," from hinge (n.). Meaning "turn on, depend" (figuratively) is from 1719. Related: Hinged; hinging.
hinge (n.)
late 14c., "movable joint of a gate or door," not found in Old English, cognate with Middle Dutch henghe "hook, handle," Middle Low German henge "hinge," from Proto-Germanic *hanhan (transitive), *hangen (intransitive), from PIE *konk- "to hang" (see hang (v.)). The notion is the thing from which a door hangs. Figurative sense of "that on which events, etc., turn" is from c.1600. Stamp-collecting sense is from 1883.
hinny (v.)
"to neigh," c. 1400, of imitative origin.
hinny (n.)
"a mule got from a she-ass by a stallion," 1680s, from Latin hinnus, from Greek innos, ginnos, of unknown origin.
hint (v.)
1640s, "suggest in an indirect manner," from hint (n.). Related: Hinted; hinting.
hint (n.)
c. 1600 (Shakespeare), "an indirect suggestion intended to be caught by the knowing," apparently from obsolete hent, from Middle English hinten "to tell, inform" (c. 1400), from Old English hentan "to seize," from Proto-Germanic *hantijan (source also of Gothic hinþan "to seize"), related to hunt (v.). OED dates the sense "small piece of practical information" to 1777.
hinterland (n.)
1890, originally in geography, "a region behind and inland from a port city that is closely tied to it economically," from German Hinterland, from hinter "behind" (see hinder (adj.)) + Land "country" (see land (n.)). What in English would be called the back-country. George G. Chisholm, in "Handbook of Commercial Geography," translated the German word as hinderland, supposedly first in his 1888 edition, and Hinder-land also was used from 1881 by Richard Burton and others to translate an Egyptian hieroglyphic for "Syria." Hinterland came to prominence in the language of European colonialism in reference to an inland region behind a port along a coast that was claimed by a state.
hip (n.2)
"seed pod" (especially of wild rose), a 16c. alteration of Middle English hepe, from Old English heope, hiope "seed vessel of the wild rose," from Proto-Germanic *hiup- (source also of dialectal Norwegian hjupa, Old Saxon hiopo, Dutch joop, Old High German hiafo, dialectal German Hiefe, Old English hiopa "briar, bramble"), of unknown origin.
hip (interj.)
exclamation used to introduce a united cheer (as in hip-hip-hurrah), 1827, earlier hep; compare German hepp, to animals a cry to attack game, to mobs a cry to attack Jews (see hep (2)); perhaps a natural sound (such as Latin eho, heus).
hip (n.1)
"part of the human body where pelvis and thigh join," Old English hype "hip," from Proto-Germanic *hupiz (source also of Dutch heup, Old High German huf, German Hüfte, Swedish höft, Gothic hups "hip"), of uncertain origin. In architecture, "external angle at the junction of two sides of a roof," from late 17c. Hip-flask, one meant to fit in a hip pocket, is from 1923. Related: Hips.
hip (adj.)
"informed," 1904, apparently originally in African-American vernacular, probably a variant of hep (1), with which it is identical in sense, though it is recorded four years earlier.
hipped (adj.)
"having hips," c. 1500, past-participle adjective; see hip (n.1)). In architecture (of roofs) from 1785.
hip-hop
also hiphop, music style, 1982. Reduplication with vowel variation (as in tip-top, sing-song); OED reports use of hip hop (adv.) with a sense of "successive hopping motion" dating back to 1670s. The term in its modern sense comes from its use in the early rap lyrics of the genre, notably Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and The Sugarhill Gang in "Rapper's Delight."
hiphuggers (n.)
also hip-huggers, "low-rise pants or skirt," 1966, from hip + agent noun from hug. So called because they are slung from the hips, not the waist. Earlier as the name of a cut of women's swimsuit (1963). Hiphugger (adj.) is attested from 1966.
hippety-hop (adv.)
1855, earlier hippety-hoppety (1825); see hip-hop.
hippy (adj.)
"having prominent hips," 1919, from hip (n.1) + -y (2).
hippie (n.)
c. 1965, American English (Haight-Ashbury slang); earlier (1953) a variant (usually disparaging) of hipster (1941) "person keenly aware of the new and stylish," from hip "up-to-date" (see hip (adj.)). Related: Hippiedom.
hippish (adj.)
"somewhat depressed, moping," 1706, from hip (n.) "melancholy," a variant of hyp, short for hypochondria.
hippo (n.)
short for hippopotamus, attested from 1872.
hippo-
before vowels, hipp-, word-forming element meaning "horse," from Greek hippo-, from hippos "horse," from PIE root *ekwo- "horse."
hippocampus (n.)
c. 1600, a kind of sea monster, part horse and part dolphin or fish, often pictured pulling Neptune's chariot, from Late Latin hippocampus, from Greek hippokampos, from hippos "horse" (from PIE root *ekwo- "horse") + kampos "a sea monster," which is perhaps related to kampe "caterpillar." Used from 1570s as a name of a type of fish (the seahorse); of a part of the brain from 1706, on supposed resemblance to the fish.
Hippocratic (adj.)
1610s, from Medieval Latin Hippocraticus, "pertaining to Hippocrates" (c. 460-377 B.C.E.), the famous ancient Greek physician and "father of medicine." Hippocratic Oath is attested from 1747; it is in the spirit of Hippocrates but was not written by him. The Hippocratic face (1713) is the expression immediately before death or in extreme exhaustion, and is so called from his vivid description of it. The name is literally "one superior in horses;" from hippos "horse" (from PIE root *ekwo- "horse") + kratia "rule" (see -cracy).
Hippocrene
fount on Mount Helicon sacred to the Muses, its waters were held to bestow poetic inspiration, from Greek Hippokrene, earlier hippou krene, literally "horse's fountain," from genitive of hippos "horse" (from PIE root *ekwo- "horse") + krēnē "fountain," which is of uncertain origin.
hippocrepian (adj.)
"horseshoe-shaped," 1852, from Latinized form of Greek hippos "horse" (from PIE root *ekwo- "horse.") + krēpis "a boot, half-boot, man's high boot," which is of uncertain origin.
hippodrome (n.)
"horse race-course," 1580s, from French hippodrome, from Latin hippodromos "race course," from Greek hippodromos "chariot road, race course for chariots," from hippos "horse" (from PIE root *ekwo- "horse") + dromos "course" (see dromedary). In modern use, "circus performance place" (mid-19c.), and thus extended to "large theater for stage shows." In old U.S. sporting slang, "a fixed match or race."
hippogriff (n.)
also hippogryph, 1650s, from French hippogriffe (16c.), from Italian ippogrifo, from Greek hippos "horse" (from PIE root *ekwo- "horse") + Italian grifo, from Late Latin gryphus "griffin" (see griffin). A creature part griffin, but with body and hind parts in the form of a horse. "[A]pparently invented, in imitation of Pegasus, by the romancers of the middle ages, and furnished to their heroes as a means of transportation through the air" [Century Dictionary].
Hippolyte
name of an Amazon in Greek mythology, daughter of Ares, from Greek Hippolyte, fem. of Hippolytos (see Hippolytus).
Hippolytus
masc. proper name, son of Theseus in Greek mythology, from Greek Hippolytos, literally "letting horses loose," from hippos "horse" (from PIE root *ekwo- "horse") + stem of lyein "to unfasten, loose, loosen, untie" (from PIE root *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart").
hippomania (n.)
"excessive fondness for horses" (especially in reference to the intense and passionate interest in horses developed in some girls between ages 10 and 14), 1956, from hippo- "horse" + mania.
hippomobile (n.)
1900, "A word used in the early days of motor vehicles for a horse-drawn vehicle" [OED], from French, from hippo- "horse" + ending from automobile.
hippophagy (n.)
"act or practice of feeding on horseflesh," 1823, from hippo- "horse" + -phagy "eating" (see -phagous). Ptolemy uses hippophagi of certain nomadic tribes of central Asia. Related: Hippophagous (1828).
hippophile (n.)
"horse-lover," 1852, from hippo- "horse" + -phile "one that loves."
hippopotamus (n.)
omnivorous ungulate pachydermatous mammal of Africa, 1560s, from Late Latin hippopotamus, from Greek hippopotamos "riverhorse," an irregular formation from earlier ho hippos potamios "the horse of the river"), from hippos "horse" (from PIE root *ekwo- "horse") + adjective from potamos "river, rushing water" (see potamo-). Replaced Middle English ypotame (c. 1300), which is from the same source but deformed in Old French. Glossed in Old English as sæhengest. Translated as river-horse in Holland's Pliny (1601).
Related: Hippopotamic.
hip-shot (adj.)
"with the hip dislocated," 1630s, from hip (n.1) + shot (adj.). The notion is "with the hip shot out of place."
hipster (n.)
1941, "one who is hip;" from hip (adj.) + -ster. Meaning "low-rise" in reference to pants or a skirt is from 1962; so called because they ride on the hips rather than the waist (see hiphuggers). Related: Hipsters (1962, of waistlines).
hir (pron.)
Middle English obsolete form of her.
hiragana (n.)
cursive form of Japanese writing, 1822, from Japanese hiragana, from hira "plain" + kana "borrowed letter(s)."
Hiram
masc. proper name, from Phoenician/Hebrew Hiram, perhaps short for Ahiram, literally "brother of the lofty."
hircine (adj.)
"goat-like," 1650s, from Latin hircinus "like a goat, of a goat," from hircus "he-goat, buck," which is probably related to hirsutus "shaggy, rough-haired" (see hirsute). "In general, words for 'goat' lack a PIE etymology" [de Vaan]. Latin also had hircosus "smelling like a goat," and hirquitallus "adolescent boy." English has used hircinous for "having a goat-like odor."
hire (v.)
Old English hyrian "pay for service, employ for wages, engage," from Proto-Germanic *hurjan (source also of Danish hyre, Old Frisian hera, Dutch huren, German heuern "to hire, rent"), of uncertain origin. Reflexively, "to agree to work for wages" from mid-13c. Related: Hired; hiring.
hire (n.)
"payment for work, use, or services; wages," from late Old English hyr "wages; interest, usury," from the verb or from a Proto-Germanic *hurja- (see hire (v.)). Cognate with Old Frisian here, Dutch huur, German heuer, Danish hyre.
hiree (n.)
hireling (n.)
"one who works for hire," Old English hyrling; see hire (v.) + -ling. Now only disparaging, "one who acts only for mercenary motives," a sense that emerged late 16c. As an adjective by 1580s.
Hiroshima
city in Japan, literally "broad island," from Japanese hiro "broad" + shima "island." So called in reference to its situation on the delta of the Ota River.
hirsute (adj.)
"hairy," 1620s, from Latin hirsutus "rough, shaggy, bristly," figuratively "rude, unpolished," related to hirtus "shaggy," and possibly to horrere "to bristle with fear" (see horror).
hirsutism (n.)
1905, as a human condition, from hirsute + -ism.
Hispanic (adj.)
"pertaining to Spain" (especially ancient Spain) 1580s, from Latin Hispanicus, from Hispania "Iberian Peninsula," from Hispanus "Spaniard" (see Spaniard). Specific application to Spanish-speaking parts of the New World is from 1889, American English; since c. 1972 especially applied to Spanish-speaking persons of Latin American descent living in the U.S. As a noun meaning "Hispanic person" from 1972.
Hispania
Latin name for the Iberian peninsula, literally "country of the Spaniards;" see Hispanic.
Hispaniola
West Indian island, from Spanish la isla española "the Spanish island" (not "little Spain"); the name is said to have been given by Columbus in 1492.
hissing (n.)
"a hiss," late 14c., hissyng, verbal noun from hiss (v.). Originally also "a whistling;" in both senses expressing opprobrium.
hiss (v.)
late 14c., of imitative origin. Compare Danish hysse, German zischen, etc. Johnson wrote, "it is remarkable, that this word cannot be pronounced without making the noise which it signifies." Earlier in Middle English ciss, siss was used of a snake's sound (early 14c.). Related: Hissed; hissing.
hiss (n.)
"a continued 's' sound, commonly expressing disapproval or contempt," 1510s, from hiss (v.).
hisself (pron.)
c. 1400; a shift in felt meaning of the first element of himself (q.v.) from dative to genitive created this new word, but the same process did not change herself.
hissy (adj.)
1905, from hiss (n.) + -y (2). Hissy fit is attested by 1983.
hist (interj.)
exclamation commanding silence, 1610s. Probably because the sound is both easy to hear and suddenly silent.
histamine (n.)
1913, "amine produced by the decomposition of histidine."
histidine (n.)
complex amino acid, 1896, from German histidin; see histo- + chemical suffix -idine (see -ide + -ine (2)).
histo-
medical word-forming element, from Greek histos "warp, web," literally "anything set upright," from histasthai "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand, make or be firm." Taken by 19c. medical writers as the best Greek root from which to form terminology for "tissue, structural element of the animal body."
histogram (n.)
1891, from histo- "tissue" + -gram.
histology (n.)
"study of organic tissues," 1847, from histo- "tissue" + -logy. Related: Histological.
histone (n.)
1885, from German histon (1884); see histo- + -one.
historic (adj.)
1660s, "of or belonging to history," probably a back-formation from historical, perhaps influenced by French historique. Meaning "what is noted or celebrated in history" is from 1794.
Though both historic and historical have been used in both senses by respected authors, now the tendency is to reserve historic for what is noted or celebrated in history; historical for what deals with history. The earliest adjective form of the word in English was historial (late 14c., from Late Latin historialis), which meant "belonging to history; dealing with history; literal, factual, authentic," and also "of historical importance" (early 15c.).
historicity (n.)
"quality of being true as history," 1877, from Latin historicus "of history, historical" (see historical) + -ity.
historical (adj.)
early 15c., "of or pertaining to history, conveying information from the past," with -al (1) + Latin historicus "of history, historical," from Greek historikos "historical; of or for inquiry," from historia (see history). For sense differentiation, see historic. Meaning "narrated or mentioned in history" (as opposed to what is fiction or legend) is from 1843. Related: Historically.
history (n.)
late 14c., "relation of incidents" (true or false), from Old French estoire, estorie "story; chronicle, history" (12c., Modern French histoire), from Latin historia "narrative of past events, account, tale, story," from Greek historia "a learning or knowing by inquiry; an account of one's inquiries; knowledge, account, historical account, record, narrative," from historein "be witness or expert; give testimony, recount; find out, search, inquire," and histōr "knowing, expert; witness," both ultimately from PIE *wid-tor-, from root *weid- "to see," hence "to know."
Thus it is related etymologically to Greek idein "to see," eidenai "to know," and to idea and vision. Beekes writes of histōr that "The word itself, but especially the derivations ... that arose in Ionic, have spread over the Hellenic and Hellenistic world together with Ionic science and philosophy."
In Middle English it was not differentiated from story (n.1); the sense of "narrative record of past events" probably is first attested late 15c. The modern meaning "recorded events of the past" is from late 15c., as is use of the word in reference to a branch of knowledge. The meaning "a historical play or drama" is from 1590s.
The sense of "systematic account (without reference to time) of a set of natural phenomena" (1560s) is now obsolete except in natural history (as late as the 1880s published county histories in the U.S. routinely included natural history chapters, with lists of birds and fishes and illustrations of local slugs and freshwater clams). The meaning "an eventful career, a past worthy of note" (a woman with a history) is from 1852. To make history "be notably engaged in public events" is from 1862.
historian (n.)
"an author of history," mid-15c., as if from Medieval Latin *historianus, from Latin historia "narrative of past events; narrative account, report" (see history). Compare Old French ystorïen (adj.). As "writer of history in the higher sense" (distinguished from an annalist or chronicler), from 1530s. An Old English word was þeod-wita, also wyrd-writere "one who writes an account of events, a historian or historiographer" (see weird). The classical Latin word was historicus (adj.) used as a noun. Holinshed has historician.
historiaster (n.)
"petty or contemptible historian," 1887, from historian with ending altered to -aster. Coined by W.E. Gladstone, in a review of J. Dunbar Ingram's "History of the Legislative Union of Great Britain and Ireland."
historicism (n.)
1856, translating German historismus (by 1835), from historic + -ism. Given various senses 20c. in theology, philosophy, architecture, etc.
historico-
word-forming element meaning "historical," from Latinized form of Greek historikos "historical" (see historical). Modern combinations sometimes use historio-.
historify (v.)
1580s, from history + -ify. Related: Historified; historifying. Historicize is rare.
historiography (n.)
"the art of writing history," 1560s, from historio- (see historico-) + -graphy. Related: Historiographer (1530s); historiographic.
histrionics (n.)
"theatrics, pretense," 1820, from histrionic; also see -ics.
histrionic (adj.)
"theatrical" (figuratively, "hypocritical"), 1640s, from French histrionique "pertaining to an actor," from stem of Latin histrio (genitive histrionis) "actor," a word said to be of Etruscan origin. The literal sense in English is from 1759. The earlier adjective was histrionical (1550s). Related: Histrionically.
hit (n.)
late 15c., "a rebuke;" 1590s, "a blow, stroke," from hit (v.). Meaning "successful play, song, person," etc., 1811, is from the verbal sense of "to hit the mark, succeed" (c. 1400). Underworld slang meaning "a killing" is from 1970, from the criminal slang verb meaning "to kill by plan" (1955). Meaning "dose of narcotic" is 1951, from phrases such as hit the bottle.
hit (v.)
late Old English hyttan, hittan "come upon, meet with, fall in with, 'hit' upon," from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse hitta "to light upon, meet with," also "to hit, strike;" Swedish hitta "to find," Danish and Norwegian hitte "to hit, find," from Proto-Germanic *hitjan, which is of uncertain origin. Meaning shifted in late Old English period to "strike, come into forcible contact" via the notion of "to reach with a blow or missile," and the word displaced Old English slean (modern slay) in this sense. Original sense survives in phrases such as hit it off (1780, earlier in same sense hit it, 1630s) and is revived in slang hit on (1970s).
To hit the bottle "drink alcohol" is from 1933 (hit the booze in the same sense is from 1889, and hit the pipe "smoke opium" is also late 19c.). To figuratively hit the nail on the head (1570s) is from archery. To hit the hay "go to bed" is from 1912. Hit the road "leave" is from 1873; hit the bricks is from 1909, originally trade union jargon meaning "go out on strike." To hit (someone) up "request something" is from 1917. To not know what hit (one) is from 1923. Related: Hitting.
hit-and-run (adj.)
1940, in reference to military raids, etc., from hit (v.) + run (v.). As a noun phrase, Hit and run is from 1899 as a baseball play, 1924 as a driver failing to stop at an automobile accident he caused.
hitch (n.)
1660s, "a limp or hobble;" 1670s, "an abrupt movement," from hitch (v.). Meaning "a means by which a rope is made fast" is from 1769, nautical. The sense of "obstruction" (usually unforeseen and temporary) is first recorded 1748; military sense of "enlistment" is from 1835.
hitch (v.)
mid-15c., probably from Middle English icchen "to move as with jerks or pauses; to stir" (c. 1200), a word of unknown origin. The connection with icchen might be in notion of "hitching up" pants or boots with a jerking motion. Sense of "become fastened," especially by a hook, first recorded 1570s, originally nautical. Meaning "to marry" is from 1844 (to hitch horses together "get along well," especially of married couples, is from 1837, American English). Short for hitchhike (v.) by 1931. Related: Hitched; hitching. To (figuratively) hitch (one's) wagon to a star is by 1862.
hitcher (n.)
1620s, "a hook, boat-hook," agent noun from hitch (v.). Meaning "hitchhiker" is from 1960.
hitchhike
1921 (n.), 1923 (v.), from hitch (v.), from the notion of hitching a sled, etc. to a moving vehicle (a sense first recorded 1880) + hike (n.). Related: Hitchhiked; hitchhiking. Hitchhiker attested from 1927.
hithe (n.)
"landing place" (archaic, but still found in place names), from Old English hyð "landing place," especially one on a river or creek, cognate with Old Saxon huth.
hither (adv.)
Old English hider, from Proto-Germanic *hithra- (source also of Old Norse heðra "here," Gothic hidre "hither"), from PIE *kitro-, suffixed variant form of root *ko-, the stem of demonstrative pronoun meaning "this" (compare here). Spelling change from -d- to -th- is the same evolution seen in father, etc. Relation to here is the same as that of thither to there.
hitherto (adv.)
Hitler
used figuratively for "a dictator" from 1934.
hitman (n.)
"hired assassin," 1970, from hit (n.) in the underworld sense + man (n.).
hit-or-miss (adv.)
"at random," c.1600, from hit (v.) + miss (v.).
Hittite (adj.)
c. 1600, "of or pertaining to an Indo-European people whose empire (c. 1900-700 B.C.E.) covered much of modern Turkey and Syria," from Hebrew Hitti "Hittite" (plural Hittim), from Hittite Hatti. The biblical use (Genesis xv.20, etc.) refers to Canaanite or Syrian tribes that probably were genuine scions of the Hittites. They were called khita or kheta in Egyptian; in Late Latin Hethaeus.
HIV (n.)
1986, initialism (acronym) from human immunodeficiency virus, name for either of the two viruses that cause AIDS.
hive (n.)
Old English hyf "beehive," from Proto-Germanic *hufiz (source also of Old Norse hufr "hull of a ship"), from PIE *keup- "round container, bowl" (source also of Sanskrit kupah "hollow, pit, cave," Greek kypellon "cup," Latin cupa "tub, cask, vat;" see cup (n.)). Figurative sense of "swarming, busy place" is from 1630s.
hive (v.)
of bees, etc., "to form (themselves) into a hive," c. 1400, from hive (n.). Transitive sense, "to put (bees) in a hive," is from mid-15c. Related: Hived; hiving.
hives (n.)
c. 1500 hyvis "itchy condition of the skin," origin unknown. Some writers connect it with heave because hives erupt out from the skin, but the phonetics of that are difficult to explain.
hmm
representative of a sound made during contemplation or showing mild disapproval, attested from 1868, but this is probably a variation of the hum attested in similar senses from 1590s.
ho (interj.)
exclamation of surprise, etc., c. 1300; as an exclamation calling attention or demanding silence, late 14c. Used after the name of a place to which attention is called (as in Westward-Ho) it dates from 1590s, originally a cry of boatmen, etc., announcing departures for a particular destination. Ho-ho-ho expressing laughter is recorded from mid-12c.
ho (n.)
by 1993, American English slang, representing an African-American vernacular pronunciation of whore.
hoagie (n.)
American English (originally Philadelphia) word for "hero sandwich, large sandwich made from a long, split roll;" originally hoggie (c. 1936), traditionally said to be named for Big Band songwriter Hoagland Howard "Hoagy" Carmichael (1899-1981), but the use of the word pre-dates his celebrity and the original spelling seems to suggest another source (perhaps hog). Modern spelling is c. 1945, and might have been altered by influence of Carmichael's nickname.
hoar (adj.)
Old English har "hoary, gray, venerable, old," the connecting notion being gray hair, from Proto-Germanic *haira (source also of Old Norse harr "gray-haired, old," Old Saxon, Old High German her "distinguished, noble, glorious," German hehr), from PIE *kei- (2), source of color adjectives (see hue (n.1)). German also uses the word as a title of respect, in Herr. Of frost, it is recorded in Old English, perhaps expressing the resemblance of the white feathers of frost to an old man's beard. Used as an attribute of boundary stones in Anglo-Saxon, perhaps in reference to being gray with lichens, hence its appearance in place-names.
hoarding (n.)
"act of getting and storing up," 1590s, verbal noun from hoard (v.).