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 retrospect + -ive.

From Old English fǣġe ("doomed to die"), from a Germanic root related to the word foe.

From Latin eloquens, "speaking out," the present participle of eloqui, "to speak out."

From the French acronym for the Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire.

From Spanish guerrilla, "little war," a diminutive of guerra ("war"), coined during Spain's fight against Napoleon.

A learned borrowing from Latin differentialis, built from differentia, "a difference."

A slurred, fast-talking mashing-together of "did you" into "jeet," the same way "wanna" comes from "want to." The trading slang sense is a much newer, unrelated internet coinage.

A trademarked name built from "wheat" plus a diminutive "-ie" and plural "-s," evoking small, wheat-based flakes.

Borrowed from French rétro, from Latin retro, "backward."

From Middle English refusell, formed from refuse plus -al.

Related to sulk; the cart sense comes from the idea that it seats only one rider, "as if sulking" alone.

From hunk + -y.

From "resent" plus "-ment", ultimately from French sentir, "to feel" — the same root as "sentiment" and "sensation".

From Old French reporteur, built directly from "report" plus the agent suffix "-er/-or."

From Middle English mereli, formed from mere plus the adverb suffix -ly.

From Anglo-Norman reuser, originally describing a hawk shaking out its feathers, from Latin recūsō.

From Old French reprochier, likely tied to the idea of bringing something "close" (Latin prope) back to someone as blame.

From Middle English maymen, from Anglo-Norman mahaigner — the same root that gives us "mayhem."

From Middle English forms blending "table" with "cloth," replacing the earlier English phrase "board cloth."

From utter + -ly.

Borrowed in the Middle Ages from a Middle Low German variant of Theodoric, and revived in the 19th century.

From Old French ussier/uissier ("doorkeeper"), ultimately from Latin ostium ("door").

From Greek diagnostikos, related to diagignoskein ("to distinguish, diagnose").

From "free" plus "load," with the agent suffix -er, originating in 1930s American slang.