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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Likely from Low German or Dutch fummelen, "to fumble," possibly related to Scandinavian words for clumsy groping.

From Latin obscuritas, from obscurus ("dark, obscure").

From obscene + -ity, ultimately from Latin obscenitas.

From Latin obscenus, "disgusting, indecent," of uncertain further origin.

From Latin obnoxiosus, "subject to someone's authority" — the meaning shifted over time to "offensive."

See oblige. Compare obligated.

From Old French obliger, from Latin obligare, from ob- + ligare ("to bind"). A doublet of obligate.

From objective + -ity.

From objection + -able.

From Medieval Latin obituarius, built on Latin obitus ("death, a going down") plus the suffix -arius.

A softened, euphemistic version of "Jesus."

Borrowed in the late 1700s from Tongan tapu, meaning "forbidden" or "sacred," picked up by European sailors visiting Polynesia.

From spoil plus the agent suffix -er — originally "one who plunders," later extended to "one who ruins" something, including a story's surprise.

From shred + -er.

Ancient Greek · 1752

From the taxonomic genus name Cactus, coined by Linnaeus in 1752, from Ancient Greek kaktos, originally the name for a spiny thistle-like plant.

Borrowed from French cabaret, originally meaning a small tavern or inn.

From Latin distinctio, "a separating, dividing," from distinguere.

From Latin Franciscus. Doublet of Francis. * (given name): From Romance Francisco (Portuguese Francisco, Spanish Francisco) * (moon of Uranus): From the naming pattern established for moons of Uranus, being references to the works of William Shakespeare. From being a character in the play The Tempest

From Middle English hevely, hevyliche, from Old English hefiġlīċe (“heavily; grievously”), equivalent to heavy + -ly.

From Middle English personally, personely, personallich, personaliche, equivalent to personal + -ly.

Old Irish · 1900

From the Irish given name Kevin (from Old Irish Cóemgén, "fair-born"), which became a slang stereotype in British English in the late 20th century, partly popularized by a Harry Enfield comedy character.

From Latin terrificus, "causing terror," from terrere, "to frighten" — the modern positive meaning developed later, much like "sick" and "wicked" also shifted to mean "great."

From Middle English coverynge, the verbal noun form of cover.

The scruffy-person sense comes from Stig, the wild boy character in Clive King's 1963 children's book "Stig of the Dump".