f | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

57 entries found.

masc. proper name, from Latin, literally "solemn, joyous, festive" (see feast (n.)).

1891 in reference to a series of numbers in which each is equal to the sum of the preceding two, from name of Leonardo Fibonacci (fl. c. 1200) Tuscan mathematician.

Finn (n.)

"native or inhabitant of Finland; a member of the Finnic race," 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.

Firbolgs (n.)

1797, ancient supernatural people of Ireland (enemies of the Dannans); according to OED perhaps from Old Irish fir, plural of fear "man" + bolg, genitive plural of bolg "bag, belly" (from PIE *bhelgh- "to swell," extended form of root *bhel- (2) "to blow, swell"). Or the second element may be cognate with the Gaulish tribal name Belgae. Related: Firbolgian.

Flaherty

surname, Irish Flaithbheartach, literally "Bright-Ruler."

Flavius

masc. proper name, from Latin Flavius, a Roman gens name, related to flavus "golden-yellow, blond" (see blue (adj.1)), and probably originally meaning "yellow-haired."

Fleming (n.)

from Old English Flæming "native or inhabitant of Flanders," from Old Dutch Vlaemingh, Old Frisian Fleming, both from Proto-Germanic *Flam- (see Flanders). The Germanic name was borrowed in Medieval Latin as Flamingus, hence Spanish Flamenco, Provençal Flamenc, etc. French has flandrin "a lanky lad" (15c.), originally a nickname of a Fleming, thence "any tall and meagre man," as they were thought to be [Kitchin].

Florence

chief city of Tuscany, also a fem. proper name, both from Latin Florentia, fem. of Florentius, literally "blooming," from florens (genitive florentis), present participle of florere "to flower" (see flourish). The city name is from Roman Colonia Florentia, "flowering colony," either literal or figurative, and became Old Italian Fiorenze, modern Italian Firenze.

Florentine (adj.)

1540s, literally "of or pertaining to the Italian city of Florence," from Latin Florentinus, from Florentia, the Roman name of the city (see Florence). Earliest reference in English is to a type of textile fabric. As a noun from 1590s.

Florida

U.S. state, formerly a Spanish colony, probably from Spanish Pascua florida, literally "flowering Easter," a Spanish name for Palm Sunday, and so named because the peninsula was discovered on that day (March 20, 1513) by the expedition of Spanish explorer Ponce de León. From Latin floridus "flowery, in bloom" (see florid). Related: Floridian (1580s as a noun, in reference to the natives; 1819 as an adjective).

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