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 currency sense comes from Vietnamese đồng, ultimately from a Chinese word for "copper"; the sound sense is imitative, echoing the noise itself.

Borrowed from Middle French encoragement.

From "eaves" (the overhanging edge of a roof) plus "drop" — originally the ground where rain dripped off the roof; the "secret listening" sense grew from picturing someone lurking in that spot to overhear what was said inside.

From Latin deflecto, from de- ("away") + flecto ("to bend").

From Latin dēflexiō, from dēflectere ("to bend away") — the noun form of "deflect."

From Old French clarté, from Latin claritas, from clarus, "clear."

From Middle French économiste (“household manager”). By surface analysis, economy + -ist.

From Greek emphatikos, related to emphainein, "to show clearly," the same root behind "emphasis."

From New Latin embryonicus.

A clipped form of words beginning with "lib-," most often "liberation," "liberal," or "library."

From "ellipse" (an oval curve) plus the adjective ending "-al."

From Anglo-Norman donour, from Old French doneur, ultimately from Latin donare, "to give."

Built from democratic plus the adverb-forming suffix -ally, following the pattern of French démocratiquement.

From awkward + -ness.

From Medieval Latin curatus, "one entrusted with care," from Latin curare, "to take care of" — the same root as "cure."

Coined in the medical sense in 1848 by physician Rudolf Virchow, from Greek embolismos, "something inserted" — the same root behind the calendar term for inserted days.

From "sweet" plus the diminutive ending "-ie."

From Old French bestial, from Latin bēstia, "beast."

From Latin flexus, the past participle of flectere ("to bend").

From Old French chastier, from Latin castigare — related to "chasten" and "castigate."

From "pivot" plus the adjective suffix "-al" — literally, something a situation turns on.

A back-formation from "maximum," coined on the pattern of "mini" from "minimum."

From Middle English "straungely," built from "strange" plus "-ly."

From Middle English namely, built from name plus -ly.