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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Formed from bar (referring to the legal profession) plus the agent suffix -ster.

A compound of "eye" + "sight," dating back to Middle English forms of the same meaning.

Of uncertain origin, possibly a variant of Middle English golet ("throat, channel"), from Old French goulet, from Latin gula ("throat").

Origin uncertain; possibly linked to Latin dorsum, "the back" — as in what you lie on to sleep.

From French rébus, probably from Latin rēbus ("by things"), though the exact link between the Latin phrase and the puzzle sense is uncertain.

From French, as the feminine counterpart of Simon.

An unadapted borrowing from Ancient Greek problema, the same root that eventually gave English the word "problem."

A compound of clock and work, referring to the internal gear mechanism of a clock.

From Old English cleofan, "to split" — confusingly, cleave also came to mean "stick to," from a completely different Old English verb (cleofian) that just happened to end up spelled the same way.

First recorded in early 20th-century American English; its exact origin is uncertain, though it predates the clown character "Bozo."

From Latin atrox ("cruel, fierce") + -ious.

From Middle English huske, likely related to an Old English word for a small covering or sheath.

A learned borrowing from Latin decōrum, meaning "proper" or "fitting."

From Middle English gobben ("to swallow greedily"), possibly related to "gulp," with the frequentative ending -le added to suggest repeated action.

From an earlier form "wabble", probably borrowed from Low German wabbeln, meaning "to wobble".

From Middle English henten ("to seize, grasp"), related to "hunt."

From the name of physicist Albert Einstein, whose fame for genius turned his surname into a byword for cleverness — often used ironically for the opposite.

Borrowed from French prix, meaning "price" or "prize" — related to the English word "price."

From the biblical name Susanna, from Hebrew shoshannah ("lily"), which itself traces back to an ancient Egyptian word for the flower.

From cordial plus the adverb suffix -ly.

From fork + lift.

From Old English spinel, related to spin — literally "a thing for spinning."

Built from "quintessence" plus the adjective suffix "-al"; "quintessence" itself comes from the old idea of a mysterious "fifth element" beyond earth, air, fire, and water.

A variant of "pottage" (a thick stew), influenced by the old word "porray" for a leek stew. The prison-sentence slang comes from the tradition of serving porridge to prisoners at breakfast.