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 facilitate + -or.

Named after biologist Robert J. L. Guppy, after whom the fish was mistakenly identified in scientific naming.

Built from hallucinogen (itself from hallucination) plus the adjective suffix -ic.

From Old English dyttan ("to stop up, close"); the Morse code sense is a later, unrelated coinage imitating the sound of the short signal.

From Middle English hardshipe, built from hard + -ship.

From "philosophy" plus the adjective ending "-ical," which traces back to Ancient Greek philosophia, "love of knowledge."

From French panache, originally "a plume of feathers" worn on a helmet, from Italian pennacchio — the flashy plume gave rise to the modern sense of stylish flair.

From Late Latin indomitabilis, from in- (\"not\") plus a form of domare (\"to tame\").

From Latin armamentum, from armare, "to arm."

From Middle French parisien, from Medieval Latin parisianus, built directly on the name Paris.

Originally described a fixed boundary line — famously the line in American Civil War prison camps that guards would shoot prisoners for crossing. By the early 1900s the word had shifted to mean a time limit, first in publishing.

From Old English crib/cribb, "manger, stall", from a Germanic root related to wickerwork — the sense broadened from a feeding trough to a baby's bed, and separately gave rise to slang for cheat notes and, later, one's home.

From Late Latin clericalis, from clericus — the same root as both "clerk" and "cleric," which explains the word's two very different modern meanings.

From the ancient Egyptian word kꜣ, referring to this concept of the soul or life-force.

From "pierce" plus the "-ing" ending.

From "photo-" ("light") plus "synthesis" ("putting together").

personification

Built from "personify" plus the suffix "-ification."

From English "spheric" (from Latin sphaericus, from Greek σφαιρικός) plus "-al."

A shortening first recorded around 1901, likely clipped from "Briton" or "British."

Formed as a noun from the phrasal verb print out.

From "photograph" plus the adjective suffix "-ic."

From the abbey of Westminster; from Middle English Westmynster, from Old English Westmynster; equivalent to west + minster.

From Medieval Latin pāpātia, from Latin pāpa ("pope") + the suffix -tia.

From Old French sacrilege, from Latin sacrilegium — originally referring to stealing sacred objects.