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 Sanskrit प्राण (prāṇa, “breath; life”).

Borrowed from Byzantine Greek Πλήθων (Plḗthōn), adopted by Plethon as a nickname or cognomen from Attic Greek πλῆθος (plêthos, “multitude, great number”) as a classicizing substitute for his surname Γεμιστός (Gemistós), from γεμιστός (gemistós, “filled, stuffed”). The particular form may have been chosen to mirror Πλάτων (Plátōn, “Plato”).

From the name of its founder, Pelagius: Pelagian + -ism.

From papyrology + -ical.

From the former instruction on letters ‘haste, post, haste’, later reinterpreted as a compound of post + haste.

From Ottoman Turkish پاشالق (paşalık).

From prevent + -er.

From peace + making.

From pet + sitter.

Scots plenish, from pleniss- the stem of Anglo-Norman plenir in certain conjugated form, from plein (“full”). Compare replenish.

From pianoforte + -ist.

Scottish patronymic surname from a hypocoristic form of the personal name Patrick + Old French -on.

From piddling; see -y.

From prick + -er.

Borrowed from French pococurante, itself - from Pococurante, a nonchalant Venetian senator in Candide, coined by Voltaire based on Italian poco (“little”) + curante (“caring”).

From practical + -ness.

From French pouf, pouff, of imitative origin; compare puff.

Coined as a nonce word in the 18th century by British dramatist Samuel Foote.

From French perruque. Doublet of periwig.

Blend of pre- + postpone, 1913.

From Middle English perambulacioun, from Anglo-Norman and Latin. By surface analysis, perambulate + -ation, or, by surface analysis, per- + ambulate + -ion.

From Late Latin plasma (“mold”) or Ancient Greek πλάσμα (plásma, “something formed”), in some cases via German Plasma or French plasme, like English plasma.

Borrowed from Middle French precognition or its source, Latin praecognitio, from praecognōscō (“to know beforehand”). Doublet of Germanic-based foreknowledge and Greek-based prognosis. Equivalent to pre- + cognition.

prestidigitator

Borrowed from French prestidigitateur.