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 Dutch Breukelen, from broek ("wetland, marsh").

From stone plus wall — the image of hitting an immovable barrier, as solid and unyielding as a wall built of stone.

Originally spelled Beatals, punningly referencing the expression beat all (“surpass everything”), then later altered to Beatles, blend of beat + beetles, with beat referring to "beat music" or the "beat" of a drum, and beetles inspired by the contemporaneous band name The Crickets.

Built from anti- ("against") and histamine, the chemical the body releases during an allergic reaction.

Origin uncertain, though it likely comes from a dialect word meaning \"to rake or scrape together with the hands,\" possibly related to scrabble.

From Old French chevron, meaning "rafter" — the V-shape was thought to resemble the sloped timbers of a roof, ultimately from Latin caper, "goat," likely because of the animal's angled horns.

From Old French assaillant, from a verb meaning "to attack," ultimately from Latin salire, "to jump."

The verb is simply a shortened form of "confess." The heraldry sense comes separately from Old French fesse, ultimately from Latin fascia, "band" or "sash."

From Old English nihtes, an old adverbial form of "night" meaning "by night."

From "tight" plus the plural suffix "-s," describing the garment's snug fit.

A euphemistic softening of "Christ," similar in style to "crikey" and "criminy."

Both slang senses borrow the number 57 from the H. J. Heinz Company's famous "57 Varieties" slogan.

From the Creek (Muscogee) words for "old town."

From Latin fībula ("buckle, clasp, pin") — the leg bone is named after the clasp because of how it pairs with the shinbone.

First recorded in the mid-20th century; likely descended from older hunting exclamations like "yoicks", used to spur on hounds, with the meaning shifting over time into a general cry of alarm.

Dates from the late 1500s as a playful use of "Dicken," a pet form of the name Dick — unrelated to the novelist Charles Dickens.

From Old English croft, meaning "enclosed field," of uncertain deeper origin but possibly related to words for a hill or bend.

Coined in the 1730s from big + wig, playing on the fact that important English men of the era wore large, elaborate wigs as a sign of status.

Named after Jules Léotard, a 19th-century French acrobat who popularised the garment while performing on the trapeze.

From Old English baest, from Proto-West Germanic *bast, related to German Bast and Swedish bast.

From Mexican Spanish estampida, ultimately traced back through Spanish and Old Occitan to a Germanic root meaning to stamp or trample.

From Middle French impartial, from im- + partial.

From Anglo-Norman larcin ("theft"), ultimately from Latin latro, "robber" or "mercenary."

From Old French roberie, built on "rob" plus a noun-forming suffix.