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 Mandarin 蘇／苏 (sū).

The name is an acronym built from the initials of its designers, Reginald Shepherd and Harold Turpin, plus "EN" for the Enfield factory where it was made.

From Latin stella, "star" — the origin of the beer brand's name.

* As a general Germanic surname, from Dutch Steen, West Flemish van der steen, Danish Steen, Swedish Steen, Norwegian Steen. Doublet of Stone and Stein. Compare Staines. * As a Scottish surname, shortened from Stephen. * As an Irish and Scottish Gaelic surname, shortened from mac Stiamhna (“son of Stephen”), usually Anglicized as McStephen, McStein.

From sooner (comparative of soon), because these settlers arrived "sooner" than the legally permitted date.

Traced back through Medieval Latin Sclavus and Byzantine Greek Sklábos to a Slavic root — the same root that, unfortunately, also gave English the word "slave," since captured Slavs were widely enslaved in medieval Europe.

Borrowed from Serbo-Croatian Šiško or Slovene Šiško.

From Swahili simba, "lion."

From Spanish sierra, "mountain range," literally "saw."

From Latin Sicilia (Sicily) plus the adjective ending "-an".

Anglicised form of Irish Seán, ultimately from Latin Johannes ("John"), the same root shared by Ian, Ivan, Shane, and Giovanni.

Borrowed directly from Latin scorpius, "scorpion."

From German schwarz, "black."

The places are named after the Savannah River, whose name likely comes from a Native American word.

From Latin sagittarius ("archer"), from sagitta ("arrow").

From Latin "rufus," meaning red or reddish.

Borrowed from Latin rosa ("rose").

From Latvian Rīga, of disputed origin, possibly related to a river name or to a word for "threshing barn."

Borrowed from French renaissance, literally "rebirth" — from re- ("again") plus naissance ("birth").

Borrowed directly from German Reich, "empire, realm."

Borrowed from Latin rēgīna ("queen"); the Canadian city was named for Queen Victoria.

From Hindi राणा (rāṇā, a Rajput title), or from Italian/Spanish rana ("frog"), or from a Galician place name.

Comes directly from the ancient Egyptian word for the sun.

Borrowed both from Hokkien 郭 (Keh) and Catalan Qué; a doublet of Quek, Guo, and Kwok.