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 German Franz. Doublet of Francis.

From German Ludwig, a Germanic compound related to "loud/famous" + "war" — a cousin of Louis and Ludovic.

An anglicized form of Gaelic names including Cináed (borne by early Scottish kings) and Cainnech, meaning roughly "handsome".

Borrowed from Latin Iūlius, of uncertain origin, possibly from Ancient Greek ἴουλος (íoulos, “downy first beard hairs”), i.e. the young, or from Latin Jovilius (“devoted to Jove”). Doublet of Jules.

From Spanish Ferdinando, from Proto-Germanic *fardiz (“journey”) + *nanþaz (“daring”) (from the root of *ninþaną (“to be daring”)). * (Uranus): The moon is named after a character in Shakespeare's The Tempest. * (Philippines): Named after Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos

Via Latin Maria and Ancient Greek Mărĭ́ā, from Aramaic maryam, from Biblical Hebrew miryām — a doublet of Mary, Marie, and Miriam.

From Old French Raimund, from Frankish *Raginmund, from Proto-Germanic elements meaning "advice" and "protection."

From Old High German ernust, meaning "vigor" or "earnestness" — distantly related to the everyday word "earnest."

From Old French Denis, ultimately from Latin Dionysius, "follower of Dionysus."

From the Old German elements "arn" ("eagle") and "wald" ("rule").

From "sit" plus the suffix "-ing."

From mail + -ing.

By surface analysis, poison + -ing.

From Old English oferhēafod, "over the head," from over- + head.

Formed from line plus -man, originally describing someone who works on telegraph and power lines.

From pessimist + the adjective ending -ic.

From chop plus the past-participle ending -ed.

Borrowed from French florentin, ultimately from the Latin name for Florence.

A 1980s hip-hop slang clipping, most likely from "definitive" or "definitely."

From French improviser, ultimately from Latin improvisus ("unforeseen").

From Ebenezer Scrooge, the miserly central character of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella A Christmas Carol.

The sister of Cacus, which see.

From scum + bag; first recorded around 1953, originally slang for a condom.

From Old French moderacion, from Latin moderatio, built from the same root as "moderate."