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 laxātīvus, "loosening" — from laxus, "loose."

From Old English wer, related to a verb meaning "to dam up" — the same root that gives us "warranty."

Shortened from "macroinstruction", first used in computing around 1959.

Origin uncertain — the OED calls it "of obscure origin," possibly linked to a Middle Dutch word for "ox."

From co- + existence.

From Old Norse arðr, "plough," tracing back to a Proto-Indo-European root also behind the Latin word for plough, aratrum.

Uncertain. Compare grub, from Proto-Germanic *grub- (“to dig”).

From un- (\"not\") plus wanted.

From Old French matremoine, from Latin mātrimōnium, built from māter, "mother," and -mōnium, "condition, obligation." Compare "patrimony."

From Old English wedlāc ("marriage vow, pledge") — built from wed plus an old suffix meaning "action" or "practice," seen also in "knowledge".

From Latin inhibere, "to hold in, restrain," from "in-" + habere ("to have, hold").

Formed in Middle English from which plus ever, adding emphasis to the idea of an unrestricted choice.

Formed from whom plus ever, mirroring the whoever/whomever pair the way who/whom works.

From "where" plus "ever," added for emphasis.

Welsh Merfyn, probably from mer (“marrow”) (from Proto-Brythonic *mer) + myn (“eminent”) (compare Irish mín (“smooth, elegant, courteous”)).

From green (referring to fresh vegetables) plus grocer.

From Old French grossier, "wholesaler" — someone who originally sold goods in bulk quantities ("gross").

From Middle English grocerye, built from grocer plus the "-y" ending, ultimately tied to gross ("in bulk").

An American English coinage from super- + market, dating from 1933.

From main + frame.

Variant of English and Manx Kermode, cognate with Irish Mac Diarmata and Scots Gaelic McDiarmid (“son of Dermot”). Popularized in the US by the naming of Kermit Roosevelt (after a Manx ancestor). The computing sense is named after the Sesame Street character, but later provided with a backronym ("KL10 Error-Free Reciprocal Microprocessor Interchange over TTY").

From Old English punt, from Latin ponto, meaning a flat-bottomed boat, related to pons, "bridge."

From Middle English kerr/carr, related to Old Norse kjarr ("brushwood, marsh with scrub") — a dialect word still used in parts of northern England.

From Middle English ratelen, likely echoing the sound itself (imitative), related to an Old English word for a rustling plant.