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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The apple variety was named after Jonathan Hasbrouck, on whose farm it was first grown in the early 1800s.

From honey + dew, originally referring to a sweet, sticky substance found on plants, later applied to the pale green melon.

From Latin limitatio, built on limit plus -ation.

From idyll + -ic; an idyll was originally a short poem describing peaceful, picturesque country scenes.

A direct borrowing from German Luftwaffe, literally "air weapon."

From Old French attentif, related to attend.

From Old French convoier, ultimately from Latin via, "way" — the same root as "convey."

From Latin subterraneus, from sub- ("under") plus terra ("earth").

From Middle French severite, from Latin severitas, from severus, "severe."

From French cravate, originally referring to a Croat (Croatian) mercenary — Croatian soldiers in 17th-century France wore a distinctive neck scarf that French fashion later copied and named after them.

From Latin fissura, "a cleft or crack," from findere, "to split" — related to "fission."

From Old French stabilité, from Latin stabilitas, meaning "firmness" or "steadfastness."

From dice + -y — something as unpredictable as a roll of the dice.

From Late Latin collector, from Latin colligere, "to gather together".

From the nickname Betty for Elizabeth. Thieves' slang later borrowed the name for a lock-picking bar, much as it borrowed "Bess" for the same tool.

From Old English hǣþ (related to "heath"), the plant that grows wild on heathland.

A back-formation from "escalator" — the verb was invented from the noun, not the other way around, in the early 20th century.

From "residue", from Latin residuum, "a remainder", from resideo, "to remain behind".

From Medieval Latin capitulare ("to draw up under headings, to negotiate terms"), from capitulum ("chapter, heading"), a diminutive of caput ("head").

From Middle English wrong doyng, wrong doynge, wrong doinge, equivalent to wrong + doing.

From Latin submissio, from submitto, "to place under, yield."

From Old French desobedience, itself from dis- + obedience.

From Middle English crepynge, crepinde, crepende, crepande, from Old English crēopende, from Proto-Germanic *kreupandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *kreupaną (“to creep, crawl”), equivalent to creep + -ing.

From Middle English stedy, built from stead ("place") plus -y, originally meaning "firmly fixed in place."