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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Clipping of raggamuffin, variant of ragamuffin (“troublemaker”), influenced by reggae.

From racket + -eer.

From Middle English rabeten, from Old French raboter, rabouter (“to thrust back”, verb), from Old French re- + boter, bouter. Doublet of rebut. The noun is from Middle English rabet, from Old French rabot, from the verb.

Back-formation from reification, calque from German. Formed as Latin rēs (“thing”) + -ify (English suffix).

(systematic denial): From the red outlines used by the HOLC to mark D-rated neighborhoods with minority occupants.

From quadr- + -ad.

From Middle English coyte (“flat stone”), from Old French coite, from Latin culcita. Doublet of quilt.

Borrowed from Yiddish רבי (rebe). Doublet of rabbi.

From religion + -ary.

From racket + -y.

From reiterate + -ion, equivalent to re- + iteration.

From pursuant + -ly.

From probabil(ity) + -istic and probabil(ism) + -istic.

From Latin profluens, from profluere (“to flow forth”), from pro- + fluere (“to flow”).

From Middle English ranklen, ranclen, from Old French rancler, räoncler, draoncler (“to ulcerate, to form a boil”), from Old French draoncle (“a boil”), from Latin dracunculus (“little serpent”), diminutive of Latin dracō (“serpent, dragon”).

From ravenous + -ness.

rationalization

First attested in 1831. From French rationalisation, equivalent to rational + -ization or rationalize + -ation.

From pumpkin + seed. The fish is so named for its small body that is shaped much like a pumpkin seed.

From pyrotechnic + -ist, from pyro- + technic.

From French rapportage, from rapport + -age.

From proceed + -able.

From Qiang + -ic.

From Latin ratis (“raft”) + -ite; ratites (unlike other birds) lack a keel on their sternum, and rafts are vessels that lack keels.