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.

Browse etymology by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Recently added

From inter- plus an old word "loper" ("runner, rover"); originally used for unlicensed traders who broke in on the privileges of chartered trading companies.

From Latin prohibitio, from prohibeo, "to forbid, prevent."

From Latin prohibeo, "to hold back, prevent."

From Spanish contrabanda, from Italian contrabando, built from contra ("against") and bando ("ban"), reinforced later by French contrebande.

(crater): Named after German astrophysicist Hermann Carl Vogel (1841–1907).

Likely of North Germanic origin, related to Danish dingle and Swedish dangla, both meaning "to swing about."

From Northern Middle English lang, the northern form of long.

From Latin solvēns, "dissolving, loosening", present participle of solvō.

From Latin "dīluere", "to wash away or dissolve" — the same root that gives us "deluge".

A variant spelling of "who," later used as a call to horses, related to modern "whoa."

From Middle English misbehaven, simply mis- (\"wrongly\") added to behave.

From French ménopause, built from Greek mēn ("month") and pausis ("pause, stopping") — literally "the stopping of the months."

From Sanskrit brāhmaṇa, borrowed into English through French and Portuguese.

From Middle French impunité, from Latin impunitas, built from impunis, "without punishment."

From "pacify" plus the agent suffix "-er."

From Medieval Latin intuitiō, "a looking at, immediate cognition," from Latin intueor, "to look at, consider."

From Latin indignans, present participle of indignari, "to consider unworthy, be angered," from in- ("not") + dignus ("worthy").

Probably from Old Norse Þorsteinn ("Thor's stone").

A figurative spelling variant of metal, dating back to the 1500s; the two words were once interchangeable before splitting into separate meanings in the 1700s.

From a 1500s blend of "spark" and an old word "funk" meaning spark or tinder.

The birdwatching sense dates to the early 20th century, first recorded in a 1921 nature column; its ultimate origin is debated, with guesses ranging from a garbled form of "gestalt" or "gist" to a coincidence with an unrelated slang word.

From Old English tūcian ("to torment, harass"), which softened over time into the modern sense of pulling or folding cloth neatly into place.

From Middle English hicchen, meaning to move suddenly or jerkily; the exact origin before that is unclear.

A shortened, informal form of "gonads."