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 Latin audax, "bold," from audere, "to dare."

From French détroit ("strait"), referring to the Detroit River.

From glide + -ing.

From Old English glidan, going back to a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to slide" or "to move smoothly."

From Greek epitomē, "an abridgment" — from epi- + témnein ("to cut") — originally meaning a condensed summary of a text.

From Late Latin anomalos, from Ancient Greek anomalos, "uneven, irregular."

Origin uncertain; possibly an alteration of "sentinel."

Shortened from the American Spanish chaparreras, itself related to chaparral, the low, thorny scrub the leggings were designed to protect against.

From Latin urgēns, "pressing," from urgēre, "to press" — related to English "urge" and, more distantly, "wring" and "wreck."

The feminine form of French Louis.

From Middle English chateren, an imitative word mimicking the sound of rapid, repetitive noise — the same root behind similar words in Dutch and German for chattering.

From Middle English sunnesine, sun + shine.

A learned borrowing from Late Latin dēnōminātor, "that which names."

From Anglo-Norman and Middle French maxime, going back to Late Latin maxima ("greatest premise"), from Latin maximus ("greatest").

From strict plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

From Middle English jousy, jowsy, literally "full of juice" — from juice plus the adjective ending -y.

From French monocle, from Late Latin monoculus, "one-eyed," combining "mono-" (single) with "oculus" (eye).

From "heft" (weight, heaviness) plus the adjective ending "-y", dating to the 1800s.

Recorded from the late 17th century; origin uncertain, possibly a shortening of chamber-mate or related to comrade.

From Old English behǣs ("vow, promise"), which merged in meaning over time with the sense of a command or order.

From French naïve, the feminine of naïf, from Latin nativus meaning "native" or "natural." Related to the word "native."

Russian · 1958

Coined in 1958 by columnist Herb Caen, blending "beat" (as in Beat Generation) with the Russian-derived suffix "-nik" — the same suffix popularised by "Sputnik."

From Latin nauseosus, "causing nausea," from nausea plus the adjective ending -osus.

Built from "remorse" (from Latin remordere, "to bite back" — the idea of guilt gnawing at you) plus the adjective ending "-ful."