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 Greek pita ("pie"), related to the word "pizza".

First recorded around 1944 for a big prize; it comes from an earlier poker term for a pot that only opens once a player holds a pair of jacks or better.

From Old French marinier, from Latin marinus ("of the sea") — essentially "mark" + "-er" applied to the sea itself.

From Anglo-Norman giu parti, "a divided game" — originally a chess or gambling term for an even, uncertain contest, which by Middle English narrowed to mean simply "risk" or "danger."

From Middle English "slypper," built from "slip" plus "-er" — a shoe you simply slip on.

From colo- ("colon") plus -stomy ("surgical opening"), from Greek stoma, "mouth."

Clipping of abandoned.

From Ancient Greek kôma ("deep sleep"), the same root as coma, plus the adjective-forming suffix -ose ("full of").

From Middle Dutch stoken, "to poke or thrust," related to feeding a fire.

Borrowed from Dutch spook, "ghost," related to German Spuk and Swedish spöke.

From Dutch smokkelen ("to smuggle"), ultimately from a Germanic root meaning "to creep" or "slip through."

From Middle Dutch "slurpen," meaning to sip or slurp — widely considered an onomatopoeic word imitating the sound itself.

From Middle Dutch schipper ("one who works a ship"), from an older Germanic root meaning "ship" — related to the English word "shipper".

Probably from a Middle English word related to Old Norse ráfa ("to wander").

From Dutch rooster, originally meaning "gridiron" or "table/list," from roosten, "to roast" — the ruled lines of a schedule apparently reminded people of the bars of a grill.

From French mannequin, going back through Middle Dutch to "little man" — the same root gives us manikin.

From Dutch holster, ultimately from an old Germanic root meaning "covering" or "case."

From Dutch verlof ("furlough, permission"), related to German Verlaub — ultimately the same root family as the English word "leave."

From Dutch vrolijk ("cheerful"), related to German fröhlich.

The drink's name is a shortened form of "geneva", itself from the Dutch word for juniper — nothing to do with the city of Geneva. The machine/trap sense comes from an older word for a clever device or contraption.

From Dutch ezel, meaning "donkey" — the stand was jokingly compared to a beast of burden holding up a load, much like "sawhorse" or "clotheshorse."

Borrowed from Dutch koolsla, literally "cabbage salad" — kool means cabbage and sla means salad.

From Middle Dutch boeye ("float"), tracing back through Old French to a Germanic word related to "beacon".

From Middle English bundel, related to Old English byndele ("a binding, tying"), from a Germanic root meaning "bundle."