Online Etymology Dictionary

effectuate: 1570s, from Fr. effectuer, from L. effectus (see effect). Related: Effectuated.
effeminacy: c.1600, from effeminate + -acy.
effeminate: early 15c., from L. effeminatus, pp. of effeminare "make a woman of," from ex- "out" + femina "woman" (see feminine). Rarely used without reproach.
effendi: 1614, from Turk. efendi, title of respect applied to professionals and officials, corruption of Gk. authentes "lord, master" (in Modern Gk. aphente).
efferent: 1856, from L. efferentem, prp. of effere.
effervesce: 1702, from L. effervescere (see effervescence).
effervescence: 1650s, "the action of boiling up," from Fr. effervescence, from L. effervescere, from ex- "out" + fervescere "begin to boil," from fervere "be hot, boil" (see brew). Figurative sense is from 1748.
effervescent: 1680s, from L. effervescentem, from effervescere (see effervescence).
effete: 1621, from L. effetus (usually in fem. effeta) "unproductive, worn out (with bearing offspring)" lit. "that has given birth," from ex- "out" + fetus "childbearing, offspring" (see fetus). Sense of "exhausted" is 1662; that of "morally exhausted" (1790) led to "decadent" (19c.).
efficacious: 1520s, from L. efficaci- (see efficacy) + -ous. Related: Efficaciously.
efficacy: 1520s, from L. efficacia, from efficax (gen. efficacis) "effective," from efficere "work out, accomplish" (see effect).
efficiency: 1630s, "power to accomplish something," from L. efficientia (see efficient). In mechanics, "ratio of useful work done to energy expended," from 1858. Attested from 1952 as short for efficiency apartment (itself from 1930).
efficient: late 14c., "making," from L. efficientem (nom. efficiens), prp. of efficere "work out, accomplish" (see effect). Meaning "productive, skilled" is from 1787. Related: Efficiently.
effigy: 1539, from L. effigies "copy or imitation of something, likeness," related to effingere "mold, fashion, portray," from ex- "out" + fingere "to form, shape" (see fiction). The Latin word was regarded as plural and the -s was lopped off by 18c.
effleurage: 1886, from Fr. effleurer "to touch lightly."
effloresce: 1775, from L. efflorescere, from ex "out" + florescere "to blossom," from flos (see flora).
efflorescence: 1620s, from Fr. efflorescence, from L. efflorescentem, prp. of efflorescere (see effloresce).
efflorescent: 1818, from L. efflorescentem, prp. of efflorescere (see effloresce).
effluence: c.1600, from L.L. effluentia, from L. effluentem (nom. effluens) "flowing out," prp. of effluere "to flow out," from ex- "out" + fluere "to flow" (see fluent).
effluent: "liquid industrial waste," 1930, from L. effluens (see effluence).
effluvia: Latin plural of effluvium.
effluvium: 1640s, from L. effluvium "a flowing out," from effluere (see effluence).
efflux: 1640s, from L. effluxus, from effluere (see effluence).
effort: late 15c., from M.Fr. effort, noun of action from O.Fr. esforz, from esforcier "force out, exert oneself," from V.L. *exfortiare "to show strength," from L. ex- "out" + fortis "strong."
"Effort is only effort when it begins to hurt." [Ortega y Gasset, 1949]
Related: Efforts.
effortless: 1801, from effort + -less. Related: Effortlessly.
effrontery: 1715, from Fr. effronterie, from effronte "shameless," from O.Fr. esfronte, probably from L.L. effrontem (nom. effrons) "barefaced," from L. ex- "out" + frontem (nom. frons) "brow" (see front). L. frontus had a sense of "ability to blush," but the lit. sense of effrontery has usually been taken to be "putting forth the forehead."
effulgence: 1660s, from L.L. effulgentia, from L. effulgentum (nom. effulgens), prp. of effulgere "shine forth," from ex- "out" + fulgere "to shine" (see bleach).
effulgent: 1738, from L. effulgentem, from effulgere, from ex "out" + fulgere "to shine" (see fulgent).
effuse: 1520s, from L. effusus, pp. of effundere (see effusion).
effusion: c.1400, from L. effusionem (nom. effusio), from stem of effundere "pour forth, spread abroad," from ex- "out" + fundere "pour" (see found (2)).
effusive: 1660s, from L. effus- (see effusion) + -ive. Related: Effusively.
eft: O.E. efte, efeta "small lizard-like animal," of unknown origin (see newt).
eftsoons: obsolete or archaic way of saying "soon afterward," from O.E. eft-sona, from eft "afterward, again, a second time" (from P.Gmc. *aftiz, from PIE base *apo- "off, away;" see apo-) + sona "immediately" (see soon). Not in living use since 17c.
egad: 1673, softened oath, second element God, first uncertain; perhaps it represents exclamation ah.
egalitarian: 1885, from Fr. egalitaire, from O.Fr. egalite, from L. æqualitatem "equality." The noun is 1920, from the adj.
egalitarianism: 1932, from egalitarian + -ism.
Egbert: masc. proper name, from O.E. Ecg-beorht, lit. "sword-bright."
egg (n.): mid-14c., from northern England dialect, from O.N. egg, which vied with M.E. eye, eai (from O.E. æg) until finally displacing it after 1500; both are from P.Gmc. *ajja(m), probably from PIE *owyo-/*oyyo- "egg" (cf. Goth. ada, Ger. ei, O.C.S. aja, Rus. jajco, Bret. ui, Gk. oon, L. ovum). Caxton (15c.) writes of a merchant (probably a north-country man) in a public house on the Thames who asked for eggs:
"And the goode wyf answerde, that she coude speke no frenshe. And the marchaunt was angry, for he also coude speke no frenshe, but wolde have hadde egges, and she understode hym not."
She did, however, recognize another customer's request for "eyren." Egg nog is Amer.Eng. c.1775, from nog "strong ale," an E.Anglian dialectal word of unknown origin. Bad egg in the fig. sense is from 1855. To have egg on (one's) face "be made to look foolish" is first recorded 1964. Egg-beater is from 1828; slang sense of "helicopter" is from 1937. Eggshell as emblematic of "thin and delicate" is from 1835; as a color term, it dates from 1894.
egg (v.): c.1200, from O.N. eggja "to goad on, incite," from egg "edge" (see edge).
egghead: 1907, "bald person," from egg (n.) + head. Sense of "intellectual" is attested from 1918, among Chicago newspapermen; popularized by U.S. syndicated columnist Stewart Alsop in 1952 in ref. to Adlai Stevenson's presidential campaign.
eggplant: 1767, from egg (n.) + plant (n.). Originally of the white variety. Cf. aubergine.
eglantine: "sweet briar," c.1400, from O.Fr. aiglent "dog rose," from V.L. *aquilentus "rich in prickles," from L. aculeus "spine, prickle," dim. of acus "needle" (see acuity).
ego: 1714, as a term in metaphysics, from L. ego "I" (cognate with O.E. ic, see I). Psychoanalytic sense is 1910; sense of "conceit" is 1891. Ego trip first recorded 1969.
"In the book of Egoism it is written, Possession without obligation to the object possessed approaches felicity." [George Meredith, "The Egoist" (1879)]
egocentric: 1900, from ego + -centric. Related: Egocentricity; egocentrism.
egoist: egoism and egoist were borrowed 1785 from Fr. egoisme, egoiste, coined 1755 as philosophical terms for "thinking subject." Egotism, egotist expressing "selfishness," are native coinages from 1714, first used by Joseph Addison; the -t- is perhaps by influence of nepotism, where it belongs. Addison credits the term to "Port-Royalists" who used it in reference to obtrusive use of first person sing. pronoun in writing, hence "talking too much about oneself." Meaning "self-conceit, selfishness" is 1800. Related: Egoistic; egoistical.
egomania: 1825, from ego + mania.
egomaniac: 1890, from egomania. Related: Egomaniacal.
egotist: see egoist. Related: Egotism; egotistic; egotistical.
egregious: 1530s, from L. egregius, from the phrase ex grege "rising above the flock," from ex "out of" + grege, ablative of grex "herd, flock." Disapproving sense, now predominant, arose 16c., originally ironic and is not in the Latin word, which etymologically means simply "exceptional." Related: Egregiously.
egress: 1538, from L. egressus, from egredi "go out," from ex- "out" + -gredi, comb. form of gradi "step, go."