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 "mono-" (single) plus "-gamous," from Greek gamos, "marriage."

From Latin extorquere, "to twist or wrench out" — from ex- ("out") plus torquere ("to twist").

From Latin Cerēs, goddess of the harvest, from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "to grow, to nourish."

Shortened from "technology".

Borrowed directly from Latin plexus ("a twining, braid, network").

A playful blend of the prefix "ka-" with "boom," built to sound like an explosion — similar to comic-book words like "kerboom" or "kapow."

From planet plus the adjective-forming suffix -ary.

From "systole" plus the adjective suffix "-ic," ultimately from Ancient Greek systole.

Formed from hard + headed, first recorded around the mid-15th century.

From "boy" plus the suffix "-hood," which denotes a state or period of life.

Formed from "bother" plus the suffix "-some," meaning "tending to cause."

From Yiddish borsht, itself from Russian or Ukrainian borshch — the traditional beetroot soup of Eastern Europe.

Formed in the sixteenth century from block plus head, comparing a dull person's head to a solid, unthinking lump of wood.

From "troop" + "-er"; the "someone who endures hardship" sense grew out of an older meaning tied to "trouper" (a member of a theatre troupe).

A learned borrowing from Latin gemma, meaning "bud" — the same root that gave English the word gem.

Formed from "radiate" plus the agent suffix "-or", meaning "something that radiates".

Borrowed from French bigot, an old insult for a religious hypocrite. Its ultimate origin is disputed, though one theory ties it to Normans swearing "by God" (Middle English bi God); another links it to Albi, a French town linked to religious sectarianism.

From French bigoterie, built on bigot plus the noun suffix -ry.

From "rubber" plus the adjective ending "-y."

From guess + work.

From Middle French advocacie, ultimately linked to advocate.

From Middle English fermely, equivalent to firm plus -ly.

From Latin exquīsītus, "sought out" — the past participle of exquīrere, "to search out carefully".

From Old English stæger, ultimately from a very old root meaning "to climb or ascend."