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 āscamian ("to feel shame"), built from a- (an intensifying prefix) plus "shame."

Formed from hurt plus the adjective suffix -ful.

Named after the German company C. Lorenz AG, which developed the landing-aid system; the surname itself comes from Latin Laurentius.

From Latin receptaculum ("container, place of storage"), from recipere ("to receive").

Built from hyper- ("over, excessive") + active.

From Latin collectivus, from colligere, "to gather together".

Inherited from Middle English [Term?]. By surface analysis, drink + -ing.

From psychology plus the adjective suffix -ical.

Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Ara.

From Medieval Latin rectificare, "to make right," from Latin rectus ("straight, right").

From periodic + the adverb suffix -ally.

From Latin interrogare, "to ask or inquire," from inter- ("between") plus rogare ("to ask").

Borrowed in the 1600s from French gril, tracing back to Latin craticula, a small version of cratis meaning "wickerwork" — the same root that gives us "griddle" and "hurdle."

A short form of "Michael," which became so common as an Irish given name that it was later used (often disparagingly) as a general term for Irish people.

From Old English sōftnes, built from soft plus -ness.

From Portuguese Sumatra, ultimately from Sanskrit samudra, "sea," via Malay and Arabic.

From Medieval Latin repulsivus, built on Latin repulsus, "driven back."

Borrowed from Urdu سادہ (sāda).

Borrowed from French psychiatrie, first recorded in English around 1846.

From para- ("beside, half") + the combining form -plegic (from Greek plege, "a stroke, blow"), the same root seen in "quadriplegic."

From the Malagasy word vaza.

From Middle French "conscription," from Latin "conscriptio," meaning "the levying of troops."

From Middle English seller, sellere, (also siller, sullar, sullere), from Old English *sellere, *syllere, equivalent to sell + -er (agent noun) (sense 1) and sell + -er (patient) (sense 2). Cognate with Danish sælger, Swedish säljare, Icelandic seljari (“a seller; dealer”).

From machine + the suffix -ery, following the pattern of French machinerie.