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 the Old French name Hughe, brought to England by the Normans, from Proto-Germanic *hugiz ("heart, mind").

From "mount" plus "-ed."

From mis- ("wrongly") plus use.

Coined in 1935 by the English botanist Arthur Tansley from "eco-" plus "system," describing how living organisms and their environment function as one connected whole.

From Greek bios ("life") and sphaira ("sphere"), coined in the late 19th century.

From Late Latin inscrutabilis — in- ("not") plus scrutari, "to examine closely."

From Old French jureor, ultimately from Latin iurare, "to swear an oath" — jurors traditionally swear to judge fairly.

From Latin extinguere, "to put out, quench" — from ex- ("out") plus stinguere ("to quench").

Formed from the verb phrase "run down".

From French diplomate, ultimately from Greek díplōma, "official document."

From Latin referendum, literally "that which must be brought back [to the people]," from refero ("to announce").

From Old English efes ("edge of a roof"), ultimately traced back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "above" or "over."

From Old French remors, from Medieval Latin remorsus, from Latin remordere ("to bite back") — the idea of guilt "biting" at your conscience.

Probably a dialect pronunciation of "hoist" — originally underworld slang for stealing or shoplifting.

From Old English ribb, going back to a very old Germanic word for "rib." The slang sense meaning "a wife" comes from the Bible story of Eve being formed from Adam's rib.

From Old French conduit, from Latin conductus, "led" or "brought together" — the same root as "conduct."

From pipe + line, describing a line of connected pipes.

Formed from "transition" plus "-al."

Borrowed from Russian нет (net), meaning "no".

From Greek mikros ("small") plus kosmos ("world" or "universe") — literally a "small world," originally used to describe a human being as a miniature reflection of the universe.

Formed from "outdate" plus "-ed."

From Latin parum ("too little") + affinis ("related"), coined to describe the substance's low chemical reactivity — literally "little affinity."

From French Marianne, a combination of Marie and Anne.

From Old French restreinte, tied to the verb restrain — "to draw back tightly."