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 Bengali "ḍiṅi", possibly ultimately from a Sanskrit word for a wooden trough.

Borrowed from Hindustani khushi, "happiness," picked up by British soldiers in India.

Borrowed from Gujarati baṅglo, meaning a Bengali-style detached house, ultimately linked to the region name Bengal.

Borrowed from the Hindi word for a glass bracelet.

Borrowed from French illégal, from Medieval Latin illegalis — "not" (il-) + "legal" (legalis).

From Hungarian gulyás, short for gulyáshús, literally "herdsman's meat".

Originally a trademark, blending Semtín — the Czech town where it was first made near Pardubice — with the word "explosive."

First recorded in the 1570s, from Middle French sentinelle, ultimately from Italian sentire, "to perceive or watch," from Latin sentiō, "to feel."

From Latin idus, a calendar term of uncertain, possibly Etruscan, origin.

Shortened from "hoochinoo," the name of a strong liquor once made by the Hoochinoo people of Alaska; the name traces back to Tlingit words for the group and for "grizzly bear."

From Late Latin monotonus, "unvarying in tone," from Greek monotonos, "steady, unwavering."

Borrowed from French surréalisme, from sur- ("beyond") + réalisme ("realism").

From "real" plus the suffix "-ism."

Borrowed directly from Spanish cojones, "testicles."

From the Malay word for the rice plant, padi.

Portuguese · 1500

Borrowed via Portuguese from Malay amuk, "to attack in a murderous frenzy" — the term entered English descriptions of Southeast Asia as early as the 1500s.

From Malay orang hutan, literally "forest person" — from orang ("person") and hutan ("forest").

From Malay durian, built from duri ("thorn") plus a suffix — a nod to the fruit's spiky shell.

Borrowed from Sanskrit मण्डल (mandala), meaning "circle" or "disc."

From Sanskrit "yoni," referring to the female generative organ or "source."

From Sanskrit "yoga," meaning "yoking" or "union," from a root meaning "to join" — the same ancient root that gives us the English word "yoke."

From Sanskrit sutra, meaning "thread" or "string" — the same root gives us "suture" and "sew."

From Portuguese palanquim, from Odia pālaṅki, ultimately from Sanskrit meaning "bed" or "couch."

From Old French musc, tracing back through Late Latin and Greek to a Persian and ultimately Sanskrit word for "testicle" — a reference to the shape of the gland that produces the scent.