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.

Browse etymology by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Recently added

From Latin praetendere, "to hold out in front, put forward as a cover" — from prae- ("before") + tendere ("to stretch").

From Latin flōrālis, from flōs ("flower").

From careless + -ness.

Origin uncertain, possibly linked to poker slang or the word "rum" in its old sense of "odd" or "fine."

A Middle English vernacular form of Peter, via Old French Piers, from Latin Petrus.

From "hell" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-ish."

Borrowed directly from New Latin tarsus.

Compare Tamil புன்னை (puṉṉai), Malayalam പുന്ന (punna), names for Calophyllum inophyllum. Doublet of punnai.

Origin uncertain, possibly from an old dialect word related to "shell."

Italian · 1469

From the name of Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), the Italian writer whose book "The Prince" argued that rulers may need to use unethical methods to gain and keep power.

From French boutique, "shop."

From Late Latin spīrituālitās, via Middle French spiritualité.

From Jess + -ie.

From the Ancient Greek word for "life"; the philosopher Giorgio Agamben popularized this specific technical sense.

Borrowed from Arabic ضِيَاء (ḍiyāʔ, “light”) via Spanish.

Named after Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the German who developed these rigid airships in the early 1900s.

From Japanese zen, itself from a Chinese word for meditation that traces all the way back to the Sanskrit dhyana ("meditation").

From Danish Sjælland; unrelated in spelling origin to New Zealand, which was named after the Dutch province Zeeland.

From Tatar Зара (Zara). Cognate with Persian زر (zar, “gold”), زرین (zarin, “golden”), Old Church Slavonic злато (zlato), and Russian зо́лото (zóloto).

The tribal name probably comes from the Wintu word yu·keh, meaning "enemies," which is how neighboring peoples referred to the Yuki.

From Mandarin 彝 (yí).

From German Worms, from Old High German Wormazia, Warmazia, etc., from Latin Vormatia, from a Gaulish name attested in Latin as Borbetomagus and Bormitomagus with influence from Latin -ātus (adjective-forming suffix) and -ia (toponym-forming suffix), of uncertain origin but usually conjectured to refer to the Celtic god Borvo or a river, spring, or other waters named for him + Proto-Celtic *magos (“field, plain”). Has no relation to worm.

From Wicca plus the adjective/noun suffix -an.

Simply wander plus the agent suffix -er, giving "one who wanders."