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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The LSD slang sense comes from the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", long rumored (whether accurately or not) to be a coded reference to the drug.

From Middle English, built from "what" plus "so" plus "ever" to form an intensified version of "whatever."

From Old French garison ("protection, defense"), related to the verb "warish" (to heal or protect) and ultimately to "guard" and "ward."

From Old English sċearplīċe, "sharply, smartly," from sharp plus -ly.

Inherited from Middle English wepynge.

From Old English eorþlīċ, from earth plus -ly.

From Old French asseürance, from asseürer ("to assure"), from Latin ad- plus securus ("safe, secure").

From Old English Ēadgār, combining ēad ("riches") and gār ("spear"); the literary award is named for Edgar Allan Poe.

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

From wander + -ing.

A learned borrowing from Ancient Greek Δωροθέα (Dōrothéa), from δῶρον (dôron, "gift") + θεά (theá, "goddess").

From adopt + the adjective-forming suffix -ive.

From Greek katheter, "something let down," originally describing an instrument used to empty the bladder.

Formed from seem plus -ing.

From respective plus the adverb suffix -ly.

From "keep," as in something kept or held onto rather than given back.

Named after the French obstetrician Dr Ferdinand Lamaze, who developed the technique in the 1940s.

From Middle English loksmith, simply "lock" plus "smith" (a metalworker).

The time-related sense comes from Old English til ("to, until"), likely reinforced by a related Old Norse word — the same root that gives us "till." The sesame sense is unrelated and comes through Hindi/Sanskrit tila.

A spelling variant of Lindsay/Lindsey.

From "un-" + "justified."

From "unjust" + "-ly."

From Old French peresil, from Greek petroselinon, literally "rock celery."

Adapted from German Psychoanalyse; built from psycho- + analysis.