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 Old English forthriht, "direct, straightforward" — built from forth and right.

The food sense comes from Old French friture ("frying"), from Latin frigere ("to fry"). The "waste" sense of the verb developed separately in English, likely from an older word for a small fragment.

From neuro- ("nerve") plus -logist ("one who studies"), ultimately from Greek neuron ("nerve").

A compound of "book" (in the sense of financial records) and "keeper" — literally someone who keeps the books.

From Latin cōnfiscō, "to seize for the public treasury" (fiscus).

Related to bogle, an old term for a goblin; the sense shifted from "startle as if seeing a ghost" to "confuse or overwhelm."

Borrowed from Turkish baklava, likely tracing back to an older Mongolic word meaning "bundle" or "package," referring to the layered pastry.

From Old English on sundran ("apart, separately"), related to sunder ("to separate").

From Middle French placard, related to a verb meaning "to stick or paste" — a placard was originally something pasted onto a wall.

From Middle English, likely related to a North Germanic root connected to words for "slicing," such as Norwegian "skive."

Possibly from French garcette, an old term for a small cord or strap used on ships.

From Latin stipendium, "military pay" or "tax," built from stips ("small contribution") and pendere ("to pay").

From Old French estoble, ultimately from Latin stipula, meaning "stalk" or "straw."

Possibly a dialect variant of "smack," related to a German word for a kiss.

From "evening" plus the old adverbial -s ending, the same pattern seen in words like "always" and "nowadays."

By surface analysis, spread + -ing.

From the Roman gens name Julius, of uncertain pre-Roman origin.

From paper + work.

From exceed + the suffix -ing.

From step plus the -ing suffix, going back to Middle English steppynge.

From Middle English schaply, "well-formed," built from shape plus -ly.

A euphemistic softening of "damned," using the word "blame" instead of the stronger curse.

From Latin scrīptūra ("a writing"), from scrībere ("to write") — originally meaning simply "something written," narrowed over time to mean holy writings specifically.

From Old French chariot, from char ("cart"), from Latin carrus ("wagon") — the same root as "car" and "charge".