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 New Latin respiratorius, related to respirare, "to breathe."

From Middle English forms related to tough and to the verb "to draw or pull tight" — its spelling and sense later merged with those roots.

From Old English gielp, originally meaning "boasting" or "pride" — the meaning shifted over time to describe a sharp cry rather than a boast.

Borrowed from Latin campus, "field", first applied to a college grounds at Princeton University in the 1770s.

Adopted by American soldiers during the Spanish-American War; possibly linked to Spanish chino ("toasted"), describing the fabric's tan color.

From Latin suffragium, meaning "vote" or "support," ultimately from a root referring to breaking or casting (as with a voting shard).

From endear plus the noun-forming suffix -ment.

From Middle English fondnesse, built from fond + -ness.

From Old French goutiere, based on Latin gutta ("a drop"), since a gutter carries away drops of rainwater.

From Ancient Greek Philippos, "fond of horses," combining a word for "love/fond" with the word for "horse."

From Latin allocare, "to place" — built from ad- ("to") and locare ("to place"), the same root that gives English "locate."

From Late Latin partialis, "of a part," from Latin pars, "part."

From Old French resignation, from Medieval Latin resignatio, from "resign" plus "-ation".

From Old Italian ripresaglia via Anglo-Norman reprisaille, ultimately from Latin reprehendere ("to seize back").

From Hebrew פּוּרִים (purím), literally "lots," referring to the lots (purim) cast by Haman to choose the date for his planned massacre.

Likely from a Middle English word related to "crutch" — both describe something forked or supportive.

Shortened from Philip, ultimately from Greek Φίλιππος (Phílippos), "lover of horses".

Formed from public plus the adverb suffix -ly.

From motion + -less ("without").

From a Kongo word for "gorilla."

From Old English beġietan ("to get"), from a Germanic root meaning to find or seize; the be- prefix intensifies the plain verb "get."

From Middle French subterfuge, from Medieval Latin subterfugium, from Latin subterfugere ("to flee secretly"), from subter ("under, secretly") plus fugere ("to flee").

From Old French heraut, ultimately from a Germanic word combining "army" with a root meaning "to have power" — the same root gives us the names Harold and Harald.

From Greek roots meaning "swift" and "childbirth," reflecting its original discovery as a hormone that speeds up labour.