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 taste + -ful.

From Middle English claspe, likely related to Old English clyppan, "to embrace."

Named after Andromeda from Greek mythology, the princess rescued by Perseus — the constellation and galaxy are named for her, and the plant genus borrowed the same name later.

The Vulgate (Latin) form of biblical Rebekah, from Hebrew רִבְקָה (Rivka, “enchantingly beautiful, captivating, snare”).

Origin uncertain, first recorded in the mid-1500s; possibly related to Latin flagrare, "to burn."

From Greek mikros ("small") and skopein ("to look at"), borrowed via New Latin and Italian — literally an instrument "to look at small things."

From down + town, originally describing the lower, older part of a city (as in Manhattan).

From Old English hǣþ, an old Germanic word for wild, untilled land — the same root that gives us "heather" and "heathen" (originally "one who lives on the heath").

From French infanterie, from Italian/Spanish infantería, from infante, "foot soldier," ultimately from Latin īnfāns, "child, youth."

A compound of "still" (motionless) and "born", first recorded in English in the late 1500s.

A variant of the Scottish surname Irvine, likely from a Celtic word related to Welsh ir/yr ("fresh") plus afon ("river").

From Italian gnocchi, the plural of gnocco ("lump"), related to a word for a knot or knuckle in wood — the dumplings are named for their small, knobbly shape.

From Old French puberté, from Latin pubertas ("the age of maturity").

From Latin durare, "to harden" or "to last," the same root as "endure."

A direct borrowing from Latin Minerva, the name of the Roman goddess.

From Latin Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt and moon, ultimately from an Old Italic root related to "divine" and "light."

From Ancient Greek Odusseus; the Latin form of this name is Ulysses.

From Latin Ulyssēs, a frequent alternative form of Ulixēs (“Odysseus”), influenced by the Ancient Greek Ὀδυσσεύς (Odusseús). Doublet of Odysseus.

From Ancient Greek Νύξ (Núx), meaning "night."

From the Ancient Greek word moîra, meaning "fate" or "portion."

Shortened from "Afro-," the combining form referring to African origin, on the model of words like "Latino" and "Anglo."

From Latin Vesta, related to the Greek goddess Hestia — both linked to an ancient root meaning "to dwell".

From Ancient Greek Hermês, a name of disputed and possibly pre-Greek origin.

From Latin Herculēs, borrowed from Ancient Greek Hēraklês, a name connected to Hera and possibly meaning something like "glory through Hera."