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 "deficient" plus the noun-forming suffix -cy, echoing Latin dēficientia.

From French défiant, from défier ("to defy"); a doublet of "diffident."

From Anglo-Norman defamer, from Latin diffāmō, built from fāma ("reputation, rumour") — the same root that gives us "fame."

From Old English galga, related to words in other Germanic languages for a pole or gallows frame; the plural-looking form probably refers to the two upright beams.

From Middle Dutch "slobberen," related to German dialect words for slurping or drooling.

From Latin recreare, "to restore," from re- + creare ("to create").

From Latin reconciliare, built from re- ("again") and conciliare ("to bring together, unite") — the same root that gives us "council" and "conciliate."

From Latin metallicus, from metallum ("metal").

From Hebrew Yitzhak, meaning "he laughs" — according to Genesis, a reference to his mother Sarah laughing when told she would have a child in old age.

From Old English innera, the comparative form of inne, "within."

From Old English līflīċ, "living, vital," built from life + -ly.

From forth ("forward") plus coming, echoing an older phrase describing something that "comes forth" or appears.

Shortened from chow-chow, from Chinese Pidgin English.

A clipped, informal form of "sergeant."

From Middle English dishoneste, from Old French deshoneste, built from dis- plus honesty.

From Old French deshoneste, from Latin dehonestus — built from dis- plus honest, literally "without honesty."

From Anglo-Norman languir, ultimately from Latin languere, "to be faint or weak."

Formed from herbal plus the suffix -ist, which turns a subject into a person who practises it.

Origin uncertain; possibly from Middle English joggen, related to a word meaning "to pierce or prod," or from an old sense of "shog" meaning to shake or jolt.

Short for "revolutions," as in revolutions per minute (rpm).

From Middle English knobbe, related to Middle Low German knobbe ("knob, bud"), part of a wider family of Germanic words for lumps and bumps.

From Old High German Gundheri, from elements meaning "battle" and "army."

Formed from suffrage plus -ette. Coined mockingly by the Daily Mail in 1906, but later embraced proudly by the Women's Social and Political Union.

A learned borrowing from Latin ludicrus, "playful" or "sportive," first recorded in English in 1619; it drifted from meaning "playful" to meaning "absurd."