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 Spanish patio, ultimately traced back to Latin pactum, "agreement" — making it a distant relative of the word pact.

From Latin optimum, the neuter form of optimus, "best."

From "caliber" plus the verb-forming suffix "-ate."

A corruption of the earlier word "cartage," from French cartouche, ultimately from Latin charta ("paper") — a doublet of "cartouche."

From black plus jack, likely referring to the leather-covered club.

Borrowed from French, likely named after the town of Baccarat in eastern France, though the exact link is debated.

From Old English twinn ("double, two-fold"), from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "two each," ultimately from the ancient word for "two."

Middle English · 1820

From Middle English jugge, of uncertain origin; the "jail" sense has been recorded in British English since at least the 1820s.

Formed from glass plus -ware, the same suffix seen in "silverware" and "tableware."

From "crocker" (a potter) plus the suffix "-ery," meaning a category or collection of things — so, literally, "the potter's wares."

From Old English molten, the old past participle of "melt" — it survives today mainly as an adjective rather than a verb form.

From Shylock, the moneylender character in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice."

From Middle English sewinge, formed from sew plus -ing.

From over- + draft.

Borrowed from Italian falsetto, a diminutive of falso ("false"), describing the artificial, "false" quality of the voice.

Formed from "munchie" (a snack) plus the plural ending "-s."

From Middle French, ultimately from Latin consors, "partner, one who shares a common lot."

From Middle French uniforme, from Latin uniformis, literally "having one form".

Borrowed from Japanese 名古屋 (Nagoya).

The award's nickname is of disputed origin — often credited to an Academy librarian who said the statuette reminded her of her uncle Oscar. The name itself blends an old Irish name meaning roughly "deer-friend" with an Old English name meaning "spear of God."

Likely a blend of fox and trot, possibly named after early performer Harry Fox.

A pet form of Charles; the slang senses (fool, cocaine) developed later through informal British and American usage.

From Latin clāra, feminine of clārus ("bright, shining"), made famous by the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi.

An informal extension of the noun mile (from Old English mīl, from Latin mīlia, "a thousand paces") — the sense of physical distance stretched into a figure of speech for "by a wide margin."