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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Borrowed from French rêverie, from rêver, "to dream".

From down + -ward, a suffix meaning "in the direction of."

From "bat(man)" plus the hypocoristic -s ending, likely reinforced by the phrase "bats in the belfry."

From embezzle plus the noun-forming suffix -ment.

From Middle English chaungere, from change + the agent suffix -er.

From air + strip, describing a bare strip of ground cleared for takeoff and landing.

From air + ship, treating the craft as a vessel that sails through the air rather than the sea.

A pet form of Euphemia, a Greek name meaning roughly "well-spoken" or "of good repute."

From Old English tynder, related to a Germanic root for kindling material.

From "top" plus the suffix "-less", meaning "without a top".

From Old English unfæger ("ugly"), from un- plus fair; the modern sense of "not just" developed later, replacing the original meaning of "unattractive."

From Greek arkhetupon, "original pattern", from arkhe-, "first", plus tupos, "type, mold".

From Old English slīc, "sleek, smooth, crafty," tracing to a Germanic root meaning "to glide, smooth, spread."

From Serbo-Croatian Srbi, from Proto-Slavic sьrbъ ("ally, Serb").

From Middle Dutch clampe ("a clamp, hook"), related to a Germanic root meaning to press together.

From Latin lividus, "bluish, envious," from līveō, "to be bluish" — the anger sense developed from the idea of turning pale or discoloured with rage.

From "deject," from Latin deicere, "to throw down" — the same idea as feeling "cast down" in spirit.

From Latin subtractus, past participle of subtrahere, from sub- ("from beneath") plus trahere ("to draw, pull").

From Middle French déduction, from Latin deductio, matching either deduct + -ion or deduce + -tion.

From interfere plus the suffix -ence; the physics sense was popularized by the scientist Thomas Young around 1801.

First recorded around 1633, likely linked to the word shark (as in a swindler) or borrowed from German Schurke, meaning "rogue" or "knave."

From French décadent, related to décadence — ultimately from Latin dē- ("down") + cadere ("to fall").

From "funk" plus the adjective suffix "-y."

From Latin contaminare, "to corrupt or defile by mixing," from contaminatus, the past participle of the same verb.