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 Latin martialis, "of Mars," the Roman god of war — the same root that gives us the planet Mars.

From German Seminar, from Latin sēminārium, literally "seed-bed" — the same image behind "seminary."

From stew plus the past-tense suffix -ed.

Borrowed from Italian vibrato, the past participle of vibrare, "to vibrate."

From tick + -er, originally referring to a device (like an old stock-price machine) that made a ticking sound.

Possibly a variant of "hunk," of uncertain origin; the "intuition" sense is said to come from an old superstition that touching a hunchback's hump brought luck.

From Old French curteis (meaning "of the court"), reflecting the polished manners expected of people at a royal court.

Borrowed from Japanese, where the character represents the sound of tiles being placed down.

Borrowed from Vietnamese xu, itself from French sou.

From "moment" in the older sense of "weight, importance," plus the adjective suffix "-ous."

From Old French conception, from Latin conceptiō, "a becoming pregnant" or "a comprehending" — from concipiō ("conceive"). Related to concept.

Named after Badminton House, an English estate where the sport was first played in its modern form.

Borrowed from French raquette; a spelling variant of "racket".

First attested in 1852. Ultimately from Latin fēminīnus, from fēmina (“woman”). See also feminine, feminism.

From Latin dīvidendum, "thing to be divided", the future passive form of dīvidō, "to divide".

From Middle French desplacer, literally "to remove from place".

A simple compound of cup and cake — the cake was originally baked in small cup-shaped molds or actual teacups.

From need + -less.

From French "sardine," from Latin "sardina," from Ancient Greek "sardine" — possibly named after the island of Sardinia, where the fish was once abundant.

Named after Mocha, a port city in Yemen that was a major coffee-trading hub under Ottoman rule; the beans traded there often had a naturally chocolaty taste, which is how the word came to mean the coffee-chocolate flavour combination.

A clipping of "decaffeinated."

Historically Dynbaer, from Cumbric *dyn ("fort") + *barr ("hill-crest, summit").

From Medieval Latin collegiatus, from collegium, meaning "community" or "group".

Formed from refresh plus the agent suffix -er.