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 the German city and surname, often confused with essen (“eating”), but this is not related. The city's oldest name, Astnide, could be related to Old High German asc (“ash tree”). The surname is from the city.

From Irish Éirinn, a form of Éire, "Ireland."

From Greek epiphaneia, "manifestation" or "appearance" — from epi- ("upon") + phainein ("to show").

From Latin aenigma (“riddle”), being derived itself from the Ancient Greek verbal noun αἴνιγμα (aínigma, “dark saying, speaking in riddles”).

From German "Engel," meaning angel.

From Japanese 江戸 (えど, Edo, literally “cove entrance”).

From Old English drȳġe ("dry") + denu ("valley").

From Anglo-Norman Drew, Drieu, Drue, from Old French Drogon, Dreus, Drues (made popular by Charlemagne's son Drogo) from Old Dutch Drogo, of uncertain ultimate origin. Possibly from Proto-West Germanic *dragan (“to carry, pull”), or from Proto-Germanic *draugaz (“phantom, apparition”).

A modern formation of the strong conjugation, by analogy with drive → drove and weave → wove.

From Middle English *dot, dotte, from Old English dott (“a dot, point”), from Proto-West Germanic *dott, from Proto-Germanic *duttaz (“wisp”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Dot, Dotte (“a clump”), Dutch dot (“lump, knot, clod”), Low German Dutte (“a plug”), dialectal Swedish dott (“a little heap, bunch, clump”).

From the biblical figure Dorcas (Tabitha), whose Greek name meant "gazelle" and who was known for making clothes for the poor.

Unknown; see the main entry.

Borrowed from the German word Deutsch ("German"); related to the word "Dutch".

Borrowed from Spanish Delgado, literally meaning "thin" or "slender".

From Mandarin 大安 (Dà'ān).

From Latin cygnus ("swan"), from Ancient Greek kuknos ("swan").

Origin uncertain; the word originally referred specifically to a young fox before broadening to cover other animals' young.

From Romance cruz ("cross").

From French créole, from Spanish criollo, from Portuguese crioulo, itself from criar, "to raise" — originally describing someone raised in a household, later anyone born locally to settler ancestry.

From a French rendering of Cree Kenisteniwuik or a related Algonquin term, later shortened by French traders to "Cris".

From Latin creator, "one who creates," from creare.

From Irish Conchúr, from Old Irish Conchobar (“lover of hounds”).

Originally an abbreviation of "Charles" ("Chas.") that came to be used as a nickname in its own right.

From Greek katholikos, "universal," from kata ("according to") + holos ("whole"). The religious sense capitalizes the word; the "universal/broad" sense usually stays lowercase.