English dictionary, thesaurus, translations & etymology

Etymology — The origins of English words

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.

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From un- + studious.

unselfconscious

From un- + selfconscious.

From un- + hat.

From unscramble + -er.

From visage + -ed.

From water + -craft (vehicle) or water + -craft (skill).

From Middle English unfre, from Old English [Term?], from Proto-West Germanic *unfrī; cognates include Middle High German unfrī (German unfrei), Middle Low German unvrī, Middle Dutch onvri (Dutch onvrij). By surface analysis, un- + free.

Borrowed from Latin vibrissae.

By surface analysis, visco- + -oid; evidently independently coined several times by several scientists in the late nineteenth through early twentieth centuries.

From Viscum (“mistletoe genus”) and toxin.

From Middle English whitisch, whytyssh, equivalent to white + -ish.

Victorian Era euphemism, specifically the category of euphemism known as indirection (compare privates, behind, sleep together). First intended meaning was "trousers", attested from 1823. Meaning "underwear" is recorded from 1910.

From un- + suction.

Doublet of Weissmann.

Borrowed from French versant, present participle (used as a noun) of verser, from Latin versō, frequentative of vertō (“to turn”).

From un- + hinge.

From modern Latin vibratiuncula, diminutive form of Latin vibrātio (“vibration”).

From un- + solve.

From waste + -oid. Compare waster (“idler”), wasted (“in a drugged state”).

From virid + -ity, from Latin viriditas.

From un- + ripened.

From Old French venial, borrowed from Late Latin veniālem (“pardonable”), from Latin venia (“forgiveness”).

From Latin vōx (“voice”). Doublet of voice.

From Middle English unnaturelly, equivalent to unnatural + -ly and/or un- + naturally.