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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Variant form of Cairo, the Egyptian city.

From Latin Capitolium, the hill in ancient Rome topped by temples and government buildings.

From "Canton," the old Western name for Guangzhou, plus the suffix "-ese."

From Greek Kana, possibly ultimately from a Hebrew word for "reed".

From Latin Camilla, the feminine form of the Roman family name Camillus.

The Girl Scout sense comes from an 1870 children's story about helpful, elf-like creatures called brownies; the cake sense arose separately in America around 1900, most likely just describing its brown colour.

From German Braun; a doublet of the English surname Brown.

Borrowed from French Bois.

From Old French blanc, "white."

From Italian bianca, "white."

* As a Dutch, Czech, and Polish surname, from a Germanic personal name stemming from Proto-Germanic *berô (“bear”). Also see Bernhard. * As a Dutch and north German surname, from the word for birch tree, from Proto-West Germanic *berku. * As a Jewish surname, spelling variant of Berg.

From Italian bella, meaning "beautiful," reinterpreted by folk etymology as a shortening of Isabella or Arabella.

Initialism of French BEA (“Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'analyses pour la sécurité de l'Aviation civile”).

From Latin Barca, from Punic 𐤁𐤓𐤒 (Baraq), from Phoenician 𐤁𐤓𐤒 (baraq, “lightning”), ultimately from Proto-Semitic *baraḳ-.

From Hebrew bārāq, meaning "lightning."

From Spanish azteca, from Classical Nahuatl aztecatl, meaning "person from Aztlán," the legendary homeland of the Aztec people.

From Arabic عَزِيز (ʕazīz, “dear”).

A 20th-century coinage from French avril, "April".

From Middle English assemblee, from Anglo-Norman asemblee (Old French asemblee, French assemblée). By surface analysis, assemble + -y.

Borrowed from Turkish Aslan.

From Latin aries, "ram" — the constellation was pictured as a ram in ancient astronomy.

From Latin Argō, from Ancient Greek Ἀργώ (Argṓ), the mythical ship of the Argonauts.

From Greek arktikos, "of the (Great) Bear," referring to the constellation Ursa Major, which sits over the northern sky.

From Latin Apollo, from Greek Apollon, a god's name of uncertain deeper origin.