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 dis- + respect.

Built from de- (reversing or undoing) plus the stem of "consecrate" (to make sacred) — literally "to un-sanctify."

From Latin fermentum, "substance that causes fermenting," related to fervere, "to boil" — the same root behind fervent.

A clipped form of various words beginning with hypo- ("under"), from Greek hupo.

From Latin "cornea tela" ("horny tissue"), from "cornu" ("horn"), describing its tough, translucent texture.

From Middle English "corner ston"; the figurative sense echoes a well-known biblical image found in Psalms and repeated in the New Testament.

From route + -ing.

Named for the marsh mallow plant — ancient confectioners made the original sweet from the plant's sticky root sap before switching to modern gelatin and sugar.

From Old English Ælfwine, made up of ælf ("elf") + wine ("friend").

From Ancient Greek sporas, "scattered," via Medieval Latin sporadicus.

From Old English sundor- ("separate, apart"), from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "isolated" — related to Latin sine ("without").

From Medieval Latin legitimatus, "made lawful", from Latin legitimus ("lawful"), itself from lex, "law". It originally described children "lawfully begotten" — that is, born to a married couple.

From Russian Михаил (Mikhail), ultimately from Hebrew, via Greek and Church Slavonic. A doublet of Michael.

A hypocoristic form of the Russian Mikhail, ultimately from Hebrew, the source of Michael.

From Old English hāmweard, from home plus the directional suffix -ward.

From Middle English rosy, built from rose plus the adjective-forming suffix -y.

From German Lagerbier, "beer made for storing", from Lager ("storehouse") — because this style of beer is aged in cold storage before drinking.

From an old dialect word "dold," meaning stupid or confused, related to "dull."

Originally described cheap recycled wool fabric, of unclear ultimate origin; the "poor quality" sense grew from that fabric being unfit for serious use.

From "season" (the verb, meaning to flavour food) plus "-ing."

From Old French errant, "wandering, traveling," ultimately tied to both Latin iter ("journey") and errare ("to wander, err") — a doublet of the word "arrant."

A shortened form of "toad-eater" — originally a quack doctor's assistant who pretended to eat toads (thought poisonous) so the doctor could "cure" them, hence a servile helper.

Variant of crumby, mid 19th c.

From Old French escroe ("strip of parchment"), from a Frankish word meaning "a shred" — the same root that gives us "shred" and "escrow."