- cambric (n.)
- late 14c., from Kamerijk, Flemish form of Cambrai, city in northern France where the cloth was originally made, from Latin Camaracum. The modern form of the English word has elements from both versions of the name.
- cribbage (n.)
- the card game, 1620s, probably from crib "set of cards thrown from each player's hand," which is of uncertain origin, though this word is later than the game name.
- Decameron (n.)
- c. 1600, from Italian Decamerone, name of Boccaccio's 14c. collection of 100 tales supposedly told over 10 days, from Greek deka "ten" (see ten) + hemera "day" (see ephemera).
- Aaron
- masc. proper name, in the Old Testament the brother of Moses, from Hebrew Aharon, probably of Egyptian origin. The Arabic form is Harun. Aaron's beard as a type of herb is from 1540s.
- gargantuan (adj.)
- "enormous," 1590s, from Gargantua, name of the voracious giant in Rabelais' novels, supposedly from Spanish/Portuguese garganta "gullet, throat," which is from the same imitative root as gargle (v.).
- Hakenkreuz (n.)
- 1931, proper German name for the Nazi swastika (q.v.), literally "hook-cross," from Old High German hako "hook," from Proto-Germanic *hoka-, from PIE *keg- "hook, tooth" (see hook (n.)).
- Hakeem
- also Hakim, masculine proper name, from Arabic hakim "wise," as a noun "physician; philosopher; governor," from stem of hakuma "he was wise;" whence also hakam "judge," hikmah "wisdom, science."
- Hammond
- type of electric organ favored by 1960s rock bands, trademark name (1935), invented 1929 by U.S. inventor and clockmaker Laurens Hammond (1895-1973).
- Hampshire
- reduced from Old English Hamtunscir; named for the city of Southampton, which originally was simply Hamtun. Norman scribes mangled the county name to Hauntunescire, later Hantescire, hence the abbrev. Hants.
- Jethro
- masc. proper name, biblical father-in-law of Moses, from Hebrew Yithro, collateral form of Yether, literally "abundance," from base y-t-r "to be left over, to remain."
- jezebel (n.)
- "impudent woman," 1550s, after Jezebel, the wicked Tyrean princess who married Ahab, king of Israel (I Kings xxi), from Hebrew Izebhel, "a name of uncertain origin and meaning" [Klein].
- jigaboo (n.)
- insulting name for a black person, 1909, perhaps from jig (q.v.), which had been applied insultingly to persons (regardless of race) since late 18c., and ending from bugaboo. Shortened form jig is attested from 1924.
- kapellmeister (n.)
- "conductor," 1838, German, literally "chapel master," from Kapelle "chapel" (also the name given to a band or orchestra), from Old High German kapella (9c.); see chapel (n.) + Meister "master" (see master (n.)).
- kapok (n.)
- also in early use capoc, "type of silky wool used for stuffing, etc.," 1735 in reference to the large tropical tree which produces it; 1750 of the fiber, from Malay kapoq, name of the tree.
- kef (n.)
- "state of dreaming intoxication produced by smoking cannabis," 1808, from Arabic kaif "well-being, good-humor; dolce far niente." In Morocco and Algeria, it was said to be the name for Indian hemp.
- Kiwanis
- businessmen's and professionals' society, formed in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., in 1915, the meaning and etymology of the name is obscure; early accounts of the clubs claim it is an Indian word meaning "barter, trade."
- Edmund
- masc. proper name, Old English Eadmund, literally "prosperity-protector," from ead "wealth, prosperity, happiness" (see Edith). The second element is mund "hand, protection, guardian," from PIE *man- (2) "hand" (see manual (adj.)).
- Edna
- fem. proper name, from Greek, from Hebrew ednah "delight" (see Eden). Related to Arabic ghadan "luxury." Among the top 20 names for girls born in the U.S. every year from 1889 to 1917.
- hand of glory (n.)
- 1707, originally a piece of mandrake root, translation of French maindeglorie, from a corruption of Latin mandragora "mandrake" (see mandrake). The dead man's hand charm is described from mid-15c., but not by this name.
- Jabberwocky
- 1872, nonsense word (perhaps based on jabber) coined by Lewis Carroll, for the poem of the same name, which he published in "Through the Looking-Glass." The poem is about a fabulous beast called the Jabberwock.
- Jehovah
- 1530, Tyndale's transliteration of Hebrew Tetragrammaton YHWH using vowel points of Adhonai "my lord" (see Yahweh). Used for YHWH (the full name being too sacred for utterance) in four places in the Old Testament in the KJV where the usual translation the lord would have been inconvenient; taken as the principal and personal name of God.
The vowel substitution was originally made by the Masoretes as a direction to substitute Adhonai for "the ineffable name." European students of Hebrew took this literally, which yielded Latin JeHoVa (first attested in writings of Galatinus, confessor to Leo X, 1516). Jehovah's Witnesses "member of Watchtower Bible and Tract Society" first attested 1933; the organization founded c. 1879 by Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916); the name from Isa. xliii:10.
- Jehu
- "fast, skillful driver," 1680s, from Jehu, a king of Israel in the Old Testament, who "driveth furiously" (II Kings ix:20). Sometimes also a generic name for "a coachman."
- jeroboam (n.)
- type of large wine bottle, 1816, from Biblical name Jeroboam, "a mighty man of valour" (I Kings xi:28) "who made Israel to sin" (xiv:16), from Hebrew Yarobh'am, literally "let the people increase."
- macaque (n.)
- East Indian monkey, 1757, from French macaque, from Portuguese macaco "monkey," a Bantu word brought from Africa to Brazil (where it was applied 17c. to a type of monkey there). Introduced as a genus name 1840.
- Macassar (adj.)
- especially in Macassar oil (1809), hair tonic originally advertised as made from materials obtained from Macassar (1660s), name of a district on the island of Celebes (modern Sulawesi); from native Mangkasara.
- macaw (n.)
- species of large, long-tailed birds, 1660s, from Portuguese macau, from a word in a Brazilian language, perhaps Tupi macavuana, which may be the name of a type of palm tree the fruit of which the birds eat.
- Naomi
- fem. proper name, biblical mother-in-law of Ruth, from Hebrew Na'omi, literally "my delight," from no'am "pleasantness, delightfulness," from stem of na'em "was pleasant, was lovely."
- Protean (adj.)
- 1590s, from Greek Proteus, sea god (son of Oceanus and Tethys) who could change his form; his name is literally "first," from protos "first" (see proto-).
- pterodactyl (n.)
- extinct flying reptile, 1830, from French ptérodactyle (1821), from Modern Latin genus name Pterodactylus, from Greek pteron "wing" (see ptero-) + daktylos "finger" (see dactyl).
- nee
- introducing the maiden name of a married woman, 1758, from French née, fem. past participle of naître "born," from Latin natus, past participle of nasci "to be born" (Old Latin gnasci; see genus).
- Obadiah
- masc. proper name, fourth of the Twelve Prophets of the Old Testament, from Hebrew Obhadyah, literally "servant of the Lord," from abhadh "he served, worshipped," related to Arabic 'abada "he served," 'abd "slave, worshipper."
- Olaf
- masc. proper name, from Old Norse An-leifr, literally "ancestor's relic;" first element related to Old High German ano "ancestor;" second element related to Old English læfan "to leave" (see leave (v.)).
- obsidian (n.)
- "dark, hard volcanic rock," 1650s, from Latin obsidianus, misprint of Obsianus (lapis) "(stone) of Obsius," name of a Roman alleged by Pliny to have found this rock in Ethiopia.
- odeum (n.)
- "concert hall," c. 1600, from Latin odeum, from Greek odeion, the name of a public building in Athens designed for musical performances, from oide "song" (see ode).
- tampon (n.)
- "plug of cotton to stanch a flow of blood (especially from the vagina)," 1848, from French tampon, from Middle French tampon "plug" (see tampion). Tampax, proprietary name registered in U.S. 1932, is based on tampon.
- tanager (n.)
- small American oscine bird, 1844, earlier tanagra (1610s), from Modern Latin tanagra, alteration of Portuguese tangara, from Tupi (Brazil) tangara, a bird name of uncertain meaning.
- Quonset hut
- 1942, from Quonset Point Naval Air Station, Rhode Island, where this type of structure was first built, 1941. The place name is from a southern New England Algonquian language and perhaps means "small, long place."
- Panglossian (adj.)
- "optimistic" (usually ironic or disparaging), 1831, from French Panglosse, name of the philosopher and tutor in Voltaire's "Candide" (1758), from pan- (see pan-) + Greek glossa, literally "tongue" (see gloss (n.2)).
- Rachel
- fem. proper name, biblical daughter of Laban and wife of Jacob, from Late Latin, from Greek Rhakhel, from Hebrew Rahel, literally "ewe" (compare Arabic rahil, Aramaic rahla, Akkadian lahru, a metathesized form).
- Pyrenees
- 1550s, from French Pyrénées, from Latin Pyrenæi montes, from Greek Pyrene, name of a daughter of Bebryx/Bebrycius who was beloved of Herakles; she is said to be buried in these mountains (or that the mountains are the tomb Herakles reared over her corpse). The name is said to mean literally "fruit-stone," but Room says it might be Greek pyr "fire" + eneos "dumb, speechless," which perhaps translates or folk-etymologizes a Celtic goddess name. "In medieval times there was no overall name for the range and local people would have known only the names of individual mountains and valleys" [Room, Adrian, Place Names of the World, 2nd ed., McFarland & Co., 2006]. Related: Pyrenean.
- gens (n.)
- 1847, in reference to ancient Rome, "tribe, clan, house (of families having a name and certain religious rites in common and a presumed common origin)," from Latin gens (genitive gentis) "race, clan, nation" (see genus).
- Geoffrey
- masc. personal name, attested in England by late 11c., from Old French Geuffroi, from Medieval Latin Gaufridus, from Old High German gewi "district" (German Gau; see gau) + fridu "peace" (see Frederick).
- Georgia
- the U.S. state was named 1732 as a colony for King George II of Great Britain. The Caucasian nation is so-called for St. George, who is its patron saint (his cult there may continue that of a pre-Christian deity with whom he later was identified), but the name in that place also is said to derive from Arabic or Persian Kurj, or Gurz (the form in the earliest sources, Russian Grusia), which is said to be a name of the native people, of unknown origin. In modern Georgia, the name of the country is Sakartvelo and the people's name is Kartveli. Georgia pine, long-leafed pine of the Southern U.S. states, is from 1796.
- Finn (n.)
- Old English finnas, from Old Norse finnr, the Norsemen's name for the Suomi. Some suggest a connection with fen. Attested in Tacitus as Fenni. Finlander in English is from 1727.
- Hedwig
- fem. proper name, German, from Old High German Haduwig, a compound of two words both of which mean "strife, struggle." Second element also that of Ludwig.
- catamite (n.)
- "boy used in pederasty," 1590s, from Latin Catamitus, corruption of Ganymedes, the name of the beloved cup-bearer of Jupiter (see Ganymede). Cicero used it as a contemptuous insult against Antonius.
- Cathar (n.)
- 1570s, "religious puritan" (implied in Catharism), from Medieval Latin Cathari "the Pure," name taken by Novatians and other Christian sects, from New Testament Greek katharizein "to make clean," from Greek katharos "pure." Related: Catharist.
- Laura
- fem. proper name, from Italian, probably originally a pet form of Laurentia, fem. of Laurentius (see Laurence). Among the top 20 names for girls born in U.S. between 1963 and 1979.
- Jocelin
- masc. proper name with many variant forms, introduced in English by the Normans, from Old High German Gautelen, from Gauta, literally "Goth" (see Goth). French fem. form is Joceline.
- Girondist (n.)
- 1795, member of the moderate republican party of France, 1791-93, from Gironde, name of a department in southwestern France; the faction so called because its leaders were deputies elected from there.