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 feċċan/fetian, meaning to bring near or get, tracing back to a Germanic root shared with Dutch vatten and German fassen ("to grasp").

Borrowed from French Christine. Doublet of Christina.

From an old dialect word wither meaning "against," since this part of a horse pushes against the weight of a harness or load.

Informal clipping of "disrespect," popularized in Jamaican and African American English before spreading into wider slang.

From Middle English tipto, formed from tip plus toe.

From Latin rectum intestinum, literally "the straight intestine," from rectus ("straight").

From Greek ékzema, "a breaking out" or "eruption," from ekzéō, "to boil over" — describing how the skin condition seems to erupt on the surface.

From artery + the adjective-forming suffix -al.

From New Latin īnfectiōsus, from infect + -ious.

From Old English innemest, built from inner plus the superlative ending -most.

From Old French rif et raf (\"one and all\"), combining words meaning \"to scrape off\" and \"to plunder\".

The English form of Latin Aemilia, from the Roman family name Aemilius.

From incriminate plus the adjective-forming suffix -ing.

Formed from Tao plus the suffix -ist.

From air + lock, describing a chamber that "locks" air in or out, similar to how a canal lock manages water levels.

A compound of air and man, formed the same way as "seaman" was for the navy.

From Middle Dutch tatelen/tateren ("to babble, chatter"), an imitative word echoed across several Germanic languages.

Borrowed from Japanese 横浜(よこはま) (Yokohama).

Borrowed from French cassette, ultimately from Latin capsa ("box").

From Biblical Hebrew הֶבֶל (Héḇel), possibly related to a word meaning "breath, vapor".

From "reside" plus "-ency", or "resident" plus "-cy".

Named after the English chemist John Dalton, a pioneer of atomic theory.

Borrowed from Latin haesitans, the present participle of haesitare ("to hesitate, to stick fast").

First recorded in the early 1700s, likely built from "leer" (a sly, sideways look) plus the adjective ending -y.