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 guts + the adjective suffix -y.

From Old French deshonor, built from dis- plus honour.

From Old French deshonor, built from dis- plus honor.

From Old French desobeir, from dis- + obey.

From French résistant, built from "resist" plus "-ant".

A straightforward compound of ground and water, describing water found beneath the earth's surface.

From grave + yard.

Anglicised form of Irish Séamas, itself derived from the English name James.

From "air" plus "field."

Named after Atropa, the botanical genus of deadly nightshade, which itself was named after Atropos, the Greek Fate who cut the thread of life.

Named after Jean Nicot, the French diplomat who introduced tobacco to France in the 16th century after receiving seeds from Portugal.

From Old French baptiste, from Late Latin baptista, from Greek baptistēs — someone who baptizes, from the verb baptizein.

From "immense" plus the adverb-forming suffix "-ly."

From Old French maigre, from Latin macer ("thin, lean") — the same root that gives us "emaciated".

From Latin curvatura, from curvare, "to bend" — related to curve.

From Latin dēfōrmitās, from dēfōrmis ("misshapen") — built from dē- + fōrma ("shape, form").

A compound of snake and bite.

From Latin expendere, "to weigh out, pay out" — a doublet of the word "spend."

From Latin expeditus, "unimpeded, free," the past participle of expedire, "to free the feet" — from ex- ("out") plus pes ("foot").

Formed from undertake plus -ing.

From Middle English "prancen," likely a variant of "pranken" ("to show off"), related to "prank" in its older sense of dressing or acting ostentatiously.

From geo- ("earth") plus thermal ("relating to heat").

Built from over- + power.

Built from over- + kill, originally coined to describe Cold War nuclear stockpiles that vastly exceeded what was needed to destroy a target.