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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An old imitative interjection, related to hist.

A variant of the older phrase "fit out," rearranged into "out-fit."

From Old English trēowlīċe, "faithfully," built from true plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

From Old French paralisie, ultimately from Greek paralusis ("disabling on one side") — the same root as "paralysis," which "palsy" is a shortened doublet of.

From Latin pantomimus, from Greek pantómimos ("imitator of all"), from pas ("all") + mimeomai ("to mimic").

From German Furnier, from furnieren ("to cover with veneer"), ultimately from Old Frankish frumjan ("to provide") — related to the English word "furnish".

Borrowed from French végétation, from Medieval Latin vegetationem, related to the same root as "vegetable."

From Anglo-Norman verdit, blending words meaning "true" and "saying" — literally "a true statement."

From Old French haler ("to pull, haul"), itself likely from a Germanic word meaning "to fetch" or "drag" — related to English "hale," as in "hale and hearty" (originally meaning to drag along robustly).

From Latin diarium ("daily allowance," later "diary"), from dies ("day").

Origin debated — likely from Anglo-Norman peruser ("to use up") or Medieval Latin perusitare ("wear out"), later narrowing to mean "examine closely."

intercontinental

From inter- ("between") plus continental.

From Latin meridianus, "of midday," since the meridian line was originally defined by the sun's position at noon.

A learned borrowing from Late Latin enema, from Ancient Greek énema ("injection"), from eníēmi ("to send in").

From Latin stellaris, "of the stars," from stella, "star."

From Old French longitude, from Latin longitudo ("length"), from longus ("long").

From the name of the foolish lawyer character Ignoramus in George Ruggle's 1615 play of the same name; ultimately from Latin ignoramus, "we do not know."

From Late Latin irrefūtābilis, from ir- ("not") plus refūtābilis ("able to be refuted").

From Spanish chipotle, from Nahuatl chīlpōctli, a combination of "pepper" and "smoke".

From Old English fullere, from Latin fullo ("one who fulls cloth").

From Old French notifier, ultimately from Latin notus ("known").

From Middle English unstable; equivalent to un- (not) + stable.

From Cantonese 叩頭 (kau tau), literally "knock head" — referring to the forehead striking the ground.

A learned borrowing from Late Latin spontaneus, "voluntary" — from sponte, "of one's own accord."