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 commute + the agent suffix -er.

From Old English Crogedene, literally "saffron valley," combining croh ("saffron") and denu ("valley").

From "Kevlar", a trademarked brand name for the aramid fiber developed by DuPont in the 1960s.

Formed from dismiss + -al in the nineteenth century, on the same pattern as "committal," eventually replacing the older word "dismission."

From Latin dimissus, "sent away," the past participle of dimittere (dis- + mittere, "to send").

From Middle French défensif, formed from defense + -ive.

From Latin nominalis, "of names," ultimately from nomen, "name."

From Latin versus, "turned toward, facing", the past participle of vertere, "to turn".

From Latin pūrificātiō, from pūrificāre ("to purify").

From Middle English houshold, formed from house + hold.

The adjective comes from Old English utera ("outer"). The verb developed separately, meaning to "put out" words.

From measle (an old word for a skin blemish caused by measles or, in pigs, tapeworm cysts) plus -y; the sense shifted from "diseased/spotty" to "pathetically small".

From Middle English enditen, "to accuse," from Old French enditer, ultimately from Latin indicere, "to proclaim." The unusual "c" spelling was added later to echo the Latin form, though it isn't pronounced.

A shortened form of "mitten."

From Middle English confusioun, from Old French confusion, from Latin confusio, confusionem. Morphologically confuse + -ion.

From Middle English housinge, from housen ("to shelter"), house + -ing.

From Latin censere, "to assess or judge" — the same root as censor.

From "assassinate" plus the suffix "-ion", ultimately from the Arabic term for hashish-users, via medieval tales of killers said to be drugged before their attacks.

From short + the verb-forming suffix -en, continuing an older Old English word meaning "to become short".

From "gas" plus the adjective ending "-eous."

From Old English campas ("enclosure") + denu ("valley").

From place names in England (i.e. Cleveland, England), from Middle English Cleveland, Clyveland, from Middle English clive, cleve, cleove (“cliff”) + land, equivalent to cliff + land.

Formed from tour plus the agent suffix -ist, following the pattern of words describing a person who does something.

From dash plus -ing, originally describing someone who moved with a bold, spirited flourish.