English dictionary, thesaurus, translations & etymology

"E" Word Origins

Where do words come from? Trace the origin and history of any English word, from its Latin, Greek or Old English roots through to its modern meaning. Every etymology is sourced.

“E” Word Origins

eyelid

Old English

From Old English forms meaning literally "eye lid" — a compound of "eye" and "lid," a covering.

eyeliner

Origin

A compound of "eye" + "liner" (something that draws a line).

eyely

Origin

From Middle English ely, eiȝely, equivalent to eye + -ly.

A compound of "eye" + "sight," dating back to Middle English forms of the same meaning.

eyesore

Middle English

From Middle English roots meaning literally "eye sore" — something that hurts to look at.

eyetooth

Origin

From eye + tooth, so called because of their position directly below the eyes.

eyewash

Origin

From eye + wash. Compare typologically Russian глаз замы́лился (glaz zamýlilsja) (akin to мы́ло (mýlo), мыть (mytʹ)).

eyewitness

Origin

A straightforward compound of eye and witness — someone who witnessed something with their own eyes.

eyot

Origin

From Middle English eyt, eit, from Old English īġeoþ, īgoþ, iggaþ, iggoþ (“ait, eyot, islet, small island”), diminutive of īġ, ēġ, īeġ (“island”) (whence English ey (“island”)) which also constitutes the first element of island. See also ait and Norwegian Bokmål øy.

Eyre

Latin

From Old French erre ("journey, way"), from Latin iter ("a journey, a road") — related to modern words like "itinerant" and "errant."

Ezekiel

Origin

From Koine Greek Ἰεζεκιήλ (Iezekiḗl), from Biblical Hebrew יְחֶזְקֵאל (Y'ḥezqēl, “God strengthens”).

ezo

Origin

Borrowed from Japanese 蝦夷 (Ezo).

Ezra

Origin

From the Biblical Hebrew עֶזְרָא (ʿezrā). Doublet of Esdras.