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 red + cap. In sense of "porter", 1890s US; compare contemporary Japanese 赤帽 (akabō), Chinese 小紅帽 /小红帽 (Xiǎo Hóng Mào). On Labor Day, 1890, John Williams, an African-American railway porter, tied a red ribbon to his black uniform cap to stand out from the crowd at Grand Central Terminal. The strategy was so successful that it was soon adopted by others in the profession, leading to the synecdochic use of redcap as a term for all railway porters.

From Middle English quadrangulere, from Late Latin quadrangulāris. Compare Middle French and French quadrangulaire. By surface analysis, quadr- + -angular.

From Middle English quytaunce, from Old French quitance (modern French quittance), from Latin quietantia. The verb is derived from the noun.

From Middle English regnant, reignant, from Middle French regnant, régnant, and its source, Latin rēgnāns, the present participle of regnāre.

From rain + making.

From Middle French purgatif.

From reckful + -ness. Compare recklessness.

From Latin professōrius (“professiorial; authoritative”) + -al. By surface analysis, professor + -ial.

Blend of quantum + bit, a play on cubit (“historical unit of length”). Coined by American physicist Benjamin Schumacher in 1995.

Unadapted borrowing from French rapprochement (“act or process of getting closer together; link (between two things)”).

Blend of pro- + boycott.

Borrowed from French quenelle, from German Knödel. Doublet of knaidel.

From Middle English redbreste, equivalent to red + breast.

From Latin replicāns, present participle of replicō. The science fiction sense was coined by David Peoples in the 1982 film Blade Runner.

From Middle French putréfier.

From Anglo-Norman remis, Middle French remis, past participle of remettre (“to remit”); Middle French remise (noun), from feminine past participle of remettre (“to remit”).

From Middle English purloynen (“to remove”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman purloigner (“to put far away”), one of the variants of Old French porloignier. Doublet of prolong.

Attested since circa 1730, from Latin pūtrēscēns (“rotting”), present participle of pūtrēscō (“rot”).

Back-formation from raunchy.

From quasi- + regular.

Latin pumiceus.

From refer + -ent.

From remit + -ment.

pseudoeffective

From pseudo- + effective.