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2058 entries found
Hyksos 
c. 1600, 15th dynasty of Egyptian kings (1650-1558 B.C.E.), called "Shepherd Kings," from Greek Hyksos, from Egyptian, explained variously as hiq shasu "ruler of nomads," or heqa khoswe "chief of foreign lands."
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Hyman 
masc. proper name; see Hymie.
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Hymen 
1580s, Greek god of marriage, represented as a youth carrying a torch and a veil, perhaps etymologically "the joiner," literally "the one who sews" (two together); see hymen. Related: Hymeniac.
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hymen (n.)
1610s, from French hymen (16c.), from medical Latin, ultimately from Greek hymen "membrane (especially 'virginal membrane,' as the membrane par excellence); thin skin," from PIE *syu-men-, from root *syu- "to bind, sew." Specific modern medical meaning begins with Vesalius in the 1555 edition of "De humani corporis fabrica." Apparently not directly connected to Hymen, the god of marriage, but sharing the same root and in folk etymology supposed to be related. Related: Hymenial.
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hymeneal (adj.)
c. 1600, "of or relating to a marriage," with -al (1) + Hymen, Greek god of marriage. Compare Latin hymenaeus, from Greek hymenaios "belonging to wedlock;" also as a noun "wedding, wedding song." As a noun in English, "wedding hymn," from 1717.
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Hymenoptera 

order of insects that includes ants, wasps, and bees, 1773, coined in Modern Latin 1748 by Linnæus from Greek hymen (genitive hymenos) "membrane" (see hymen) + pteron "wing" (from PIE root *pet- "to rush, to fly"). Related: Hymenopterous.

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hymie (n.)
"Jewish male" (derogatory), by early 1980s, apparently originally African-American vernacular, from common Jewish masc. proper name Hymie, a pet form of Hyman, from Hebrew, literally "life" (the masc. counterpart of Eve).
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hymn (n.)
"religious song," c. 1000, from Old French ymne and Old English ymen, both from Late Latin hymnus "song of praise," from Greek hymnos "festive song or ode in praise of gods or heroes" (also sometimes of mournful songs), used in Septuagint to translate several Hebrew words meaning "song praising God." Possibly a variant of hymenaios "wedding song," from Hymen, Greek god of marriage, or, as per Watkins, from a PIE root *sam- "to sing" (source also of Hittite išhamai "he sings," Sanskrit saman- "hymn, song"). Evidence for the silent -n- dates from at least 1530.
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hymnal (n.)
c. 1500, imnale, himnale, "hymn-book," from Medieval Latin hymnale (n.), from ymnus, from Latin hymnus "song of praise" (see hymn). As an adjective, "of or pertaining to hymns," attested from 1640s.

Hymnal measure (a quatrain, usually iambic, alternately rhymed) is so called for being the preferred verse form for English hymns (such as "Amazing Grace"). It has been popular in English secular poetry as well, "though it almost always suggests the hymn, directly or ironically" [Miller Williams, "Patterns of Poetry," 1986].
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hymnic (adj.)
1580s, from hymn + -ic.
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