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 transport plus the agent suffix -er, "one that transports."

A blend of "transmitter" and "responder."

From Medieval Latin transparentia, built from transparent plus the noun ending -cy.

From tool + box.

Formed from "trans-" ("across") plus "Atlantic."

Named after Austrian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach (1838-1916).

From super- + sonic; a doublet of hypersonic.

British slang from the 1920s, a variant spelling of "skinned" — the idea of being stripped of your money like being stripped of skin.

From French dauphin, literally "dolphin" — the title came from the coat of arms of the Dauphiné region, which featured a dolphin. It's actually a doublet of the English word "dolphin."

Borrowed from Vietnamese Nguyễn.

A deverbal noun formed from the phrasal verb "set up."

Borrowed via French from a Dakota word describing people who "speak differently" or unintelligibly — an outside name rather than what the Cheyenne called themselves.

From "air" plus "bag."

From hope + -ing.

From Old Irish Derdriu.

From "ring" (the sound a phone makes) plus "tone."

From Latin modicum ("a small amount"), related to modus ("measure").

From Old English delfan ("to dig"), from Proto-Germanic *delbaną — the same root gave Dutch delven and Low German dölven.

From Irish Ó Raghallaigh, meaning "descendants of Raghallach."

From Latin auditorium, "a place for hearing," related to auditory.

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

From Old French transmutacion, from Latin transmutare, "to change across" — the same root gives us "mutate."

Formed from "transmit" plus the agent suffix "-er."

From hum + -er — originally just "something that hums."