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 Latin navigare, "to sail a ship," from navis ("ship") plus agere ("to drive").

From mad plus the verb-forming suffix -en, on the pattern of words like "sadden" and "deepen".

A shortened form of "ammunition", which traces back through French to the Latin munitio, "fortification, defense".

From Middle English lightnen, formed from light + the verb-forming suffix -en.

From Old French continuance, from continuer ("to continue").

From "re-" ("again") plus "construct," ultimately from Latin construere, "to build together."

From Old English healfweġ, joining half and way — literally "half of the way."

A fusion of some + day.

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

From Greek "margarites," meaning "pearl," via the name Margaret.

From Greek mántis, meaning "prophet" or "soothsayer," from the insect's prayer-like stance.

From Latin excursio, "a running out," from excurrere, "to run out" — ex- plus currere ("to run").

Formed from em- (a variant of "in") plus body — literally "to put into a body."

By surface analysis, embarrass + -ing.

An altered form of an earlier word, scritch, ultimately from Old English and Old Norse verbs meaning to shriek, likely imitative of the sound itself.

From vex + the suffix -ing.

From head plus line, originally the line of text sitting at the "head" of an article.

From Latin egressus, from egredi ("to go out"), built from ex- ("out") + gradi ("to step, walk").

From Medieval Latin quantifico, a term introduced into logic by the philosopher Sir William Hamilton.

Borrowed directly from French financier.

From "air" plus "lift," modeled on the earlier word "sealift."

From Latin Carolus, of Germanic origin — a doublet of Charles and Carlos.

The given name traces to Latin Marcus, again linked to Mars, the god of war; the pool game references the explorer Marco Polo.

From Greek kosmikos, related to kosmos ("universe, order").