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 hap ("chance, luck") plus hazard, both words carrying the idea of randomness.

Formed from "noisy" plus the adverb ending "-ly."

From Old French subversion, from Latin subversio.

Origin uncertain; possibly linked to the American slang words "boodle" or "caboodle," both meaning a large collection or lot.

Built from dis- plus connect, ultimately from Latin connectere, "to bind together."

A blend of "bio-" (life) and "diversity," popularised from the 1980s onward in conservation science.

From Latin partitio, "division," from partire, "to divide."

From Old English swillan, "to wash or gargle," related to the word swallow.

A written spelling of the slurred pronunciation of "don't know."

Written form of a reduction of let me.

A written, informal spelling of the spoken contraction of "kind of."

From Spanish hasta, "until," most often heard in the phrase hasta luego, "until later."

A casual spelling of "got you", first written down this way in the 20th century.

From Old French ligeance, describing the loyalty a vassal owed to his lord — the root also survives in the word "liege."

From authenticate plus the suffix -ion.

From French nonchalant, built from non- ("not") and Latin calere ("to be warm") — literally, "not warming up" about something.

From the verb "breed" plus the suffix "-ing", covering both the literal act of reproduction and, by extension, upbringing.

From Middle English eggeshell, ege schelle, egg-shel, egg shelle (also as Middle English eye schell, ey-schel, ey-schelle), partially continuing Old English ǣġsċill, ǣġsċyll (“eggshell”), equivalent to egg + shell. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Oaierskil (“eggshell”), Dutch eierschaal (“eggshell”), German Eierschale (“eggshell”), Danish æggeskal (“eggshell”), Swedish äggskal (“eggshell”).

From Old French vin claret, "clear wine" — originally describing a lighter, clearer red than the deep reds usually made.

From Old French topace, ultimately from Ancient Greek tópazos, the name of the gemstone.

The color sense comes from the deep red wine produced in the Burgundy region of France.

From Middle English lystles — literally "without desire" (list here is an old word for "desire," not the modern sense of a list of items) plus the suffix -less.

From Japanese 麹 (kōji), the fermenting agent used across Japanese cuisine.

As a Russian name, a diminutive of Aleksandra/Aleksandr; as a place name, from local Chinese.