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 explicit + the adverb ending -ly.

Name of Scottish kings and an early saint, from Scottish Gaelic Dòmhnall and reinforced by Medieval Latin Donvaldus ~ Donaldus, from Old Irish Domnall, from Proto-Celtic *Dubnowalos (“prince / chief of the world”). Doublet of Domhnall.

From Middle French ressource, ultimately from Latin resurgo, "to rise again" — related to "resurgent".

From Middle English exclusyvely; equivalent to exclusive + -ly.

From Old French surveoir ("to oversee"), from sur- ("over") + veoir ("to see"), from Latin videre — related to "vision" and "supervise".

From experiment + the adjective ending -al.

From document + -ation.

From replace plus -ment.

From Spanish, ultimately tracing back through Latin and Greek to the Hebrew name that also gave English "John."

From Ancient Greek margarítēs ("pearl"), via Latin Margarita and Old French Margaret, popularised by an early Christian saint of the same name.

A straightforward compound of "dog" and "house."

A compound of loud and mouth, first used to describe someone who talks too freely or brashly.

From French cabale, ultimately from Hebrew kabalah ("received tradition") — the same root as the mystical Kabbalah.

From Scottish Gaelic Calum, from Late Latin Columba ("dove"); a doublet of Colm.

From Old English grimm, going back through Proto-Germanic to a root meaning "to roar" or "thunder" — the sense shifted from fierce and terrifying to today's bleak, joyless meaning.

Named after the Penicillium mold from which it was first isolated; coined by Alexander Fleming, who discovered it in 1928.

Borrowed from Latin raucus, meaning "hoarse" or "husky."

Borrowed from Latin tandem ("at length, finally"), humorously applied in English to horses harnessed one behind the other rather than side by side.

Origin uncertain — possibly a playful coinage from "gaze" plus a mock-Latin ending (as in similar joke words like "lavabo"), though an Arabic root meaning "fort" has also been suggested.

From in- ("not") + describe + -able.

From under- plus world.

From under- plus -wear.

From undertake plus the agent suffix -er, originally meaning simply "one who undertakes a task," later narrowing to specifically mean a funeral director.

From under- plus study, reflecting the idea of studying a role "beneath" or in support of the main performer.