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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Borrowed directly from Spanish rancho; related to the English word "ranch."

From Spanish paloma, meaning "dove".

A compound of "corn" and "field."

From Old English Dēornōþingtūn, "the settlement of Dēornōþ's people."

From the term jump (“short coat”) + -er, originally in sailors' jargon, ultimately of uncertain origin. Jump is possibly from Scottish English jupe (“man's loose jacket or tunic”), from Middle English juype, gype, joupe, from Old French jupe, juppe, from Arabic جُبَّة (jubba); see also jibba. Cognate with Middle Low German jōpe, gōpe (“waistcoat, jacket”), German Joppe (“jacket”). Alternatively, perhaps derived from jump.

From Latin inscriptio, from inscribere, "to write on/into" — in- plus scribere, "to write."

Named after Jakob Ammann, a 17th-century Swiss preacher who founded the movement.

The bachelor sense comes from Benedick, a witty confirmed bachelor in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, who ends up marrying anyway. The name itself traces to Latin Benedictus, "blessed."

Borrowed from French résonnant or Latin resonantem.

From Old French reposer, "to rest" or "to be still," ultimately from Latin repausare — re- plus pausare ("to pause"), the ancestor of "pause" itself.

A contraction of "I pray thee" — an archaic way of politely asking someone to do something.

From an old form of thwitel, "a large knife," itself from an Old English verb meaning "to cut or strike down" — the same root as the rarer word thwite.

An altered form of an earlier word derived from baluster, the term for the small decorative posts supporting a railing.

From over- + dose.

From Old English līcung, built from like plus -ing.

From German Kinder, "children," sometimes reaching English through Yiddish.

From Latin illuminare, "to light up" — in- ("in") + lumen ("light").

From Old French cucuault, built from cucu ("cuckoo") plus a suffix — a reference to cuckoo birds laying eggs in other birds' nests.

From Greek atrophia, "a wasting away," built from a- ("not") and trophe ("nourishment") — literally, not being fed.

From campus + the informal -o ending, or directly from Spanish/Portuguese campo, "field".

From Middle English woful, formed from woe plus -ful.

Several places in England, from Old English west (“west”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”). Equivalent to west + -ley (“lea”).

From "mescal", the name of the peyote cactus, plus the chemistry suffix "-ine" used for alkaloids.

The surname comes from an Old English place name meaning roughly "flat-topped hill," originally a manor in Leicestershire. The many towns and cities called Hamilton around the world were mostly named after settlers or officials who carried the surname, including Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, whose face gives the ten-dollar bill its nickname.