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 Middle English man + slaughter, echoing the older Old English mansliht ("killing of a person").

From Latin commemorare, from com- + memorare ("to bring to mind"), related to "memory."

An onomatopoeic word imitating a springy bouncing sound.

From Old English ēastre, likely tied to Ēastre, a proposed Anglo-Saxon goddess associated with spring and dawn — despite a popular myth, it is not related to the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar.

A compound of cease + fire, formed in military usage as an order to stop shooting.

Origin uncertain — American slang, possibly linked to "scamp" (a swindler) or an Irish word for "crooked." It became widely known in the early 1980s after the FBI's Operation ABSCAM sting.

From "un-" + "lawful."

A cheeky nickname for the upper gallery, as if the people sitting way up there were looking down like gods on Olympus.

From Latin tangere, "to touch," with the negative prefix in- — literally "untouchable."

From Greek psukhikos ("of the soul, mind"), related to psykhē ("soul, mind").

Derived from the older word asquint, meaning "obliquely" or "with a sidelong glance."

From Old English willende, the present participle of willan ("to want").

From Latin prīmus ("first") combined with the adjective suffix -al.

From Anglo-Norman anhauncer, "to raise up," ultimately from Latin altus, "high" — the same root as "altitude".

From Old French hachete, a diminutive of hache, "axe" — ultimately from the same Frankish root that gives us "hash."

Formed from "weak" plus the verb-forming suffix "-en," the same pattern as "strengthen" or "sharpen."

From Late Latin visualis, "of sight," from Latin visus, "sight" — from videre, "to see."

From dis- ("not, opposite of") plus able, tracing back through Old French to Latin habilis, "manageable."

From Middle English unable, formed from un- ("not") plus able.

From Middle French incapable — in- plus capable.

From incapacity plus the verb-forming suffix -ate, from the mid-1600s; compare French incapaciter.

Formed from "daze" plus the "-le" ending that often signals a repeated or intensified action, as in "sparkle" or "twinkle."

From Old English hēahfore, a word of disputed origin found only in English, with no clear match in other Germanic languages.

A clipped, informal form of "heterosexual."