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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A shortened form of "tootsie".

From Old English sylian, "to soil or defile," related to German sühlen and Swedish söla, both meaning "to sully."

From Old French ternir, meaning to make dim or dull, ultimately traced to a Germanic root meaning to conceal.

From conduce plus -ive, ultimately from Latin conducere ("to lead together, contribute").

From Ancient Greek pathetikos, "capable of feeling," from pathos, "suffering."

From Latin nominatio, from the verb nomino, "to name."

From Old French deintié, going back to Latin dignitatem — the same root that gives us "dignity."

An eye-dialect spelling used to represent a regional pronunciation of "tall."

From "border" + "line," originally describing a line marking a boundary.

A shortened form of "intelligence."

From egg + plant — early Western varieties were small, white, and egg-shaped, which gave the vegetable its name even though most eggplants today are purple.

A compound of "water" and "works," in the old sense of "works" meaning a factory or engineered system.

From duck + the suffix -ing.

Formed from touch plus the suffix -ing.

Borrowed from Latin insomnia, from in- ("without") + somnus ("sleep").

From Latin resurgere, "to rise again," via the past participle stem resurrect-.

From re- (\"again\") plus discover.

From Ancient Greek "strategikos" ("of a general"), from "strategos" ("general, army leader").

From remark + -able, "worth remarking on."

From per- ("thoroughly") + oxide, describing a compound with extra oxygen atoms.

From Arabic تَاج (tāj), borrowed from Classical Persian تاج (tāj, "crown").

Formed from the prefix "di-" (two) plus "oxide," reflecting the two oxygen atoms in the compound.

Formed from "mon-" (one) plus "oxide," paralleling terms like dioxide and trioxide.

A Latinization of Alice, which is in turn from Old French Adelais, Germanic Adalheid.