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 Old English "Norþhymbra land," meaning "land of the Northumbrians" — the people living north of the River Humber.

Named after Norfolk, the English county, from Old English "Norþfolc" — literally "northern people."

From Old English Lincolnesċīr, meaning the "shire" (administrative county) built around the city of Lincoln.

Named after the county of Lancashire in north-west England.

From Old English Cent, going back through Latin Cantium to an old Celtic word thought to mean "corner" or "rim" — describing the county's coastal, edge-of-the-land position.

From Middle English Hertfordschire; equivalent to Hertford + -shire.

From Old English Hāmtūnscīr, meaning "the shire of Southampton" — combining the town's old name with the word for a county.

From Old English Ēastseaxan, "East Saxons" — the historical kingdom of the Saxon settlers who lived east of Wessex and Sussex.

From the county town of Dorchester, via Old English Dornsǣte, Dorsǣte, reduced from Durnovaria + -sǣte ("people, dwellers").

From Old English Cumberland, meaning roughly "land of the Cumbrians" (Britons).

From Old English "Cornwēalas," combining a Celtic root meaning "horn" (referring to the peninsula's shape) with "wealh" ("foreigner" or "Briton"). Related to "Wales" and "Welsh."

From Old English forms meaning "the shire of Chester", ultimately from Latin castra ("military camp").

From Middle English Barrokschire, Berchesire, Barrokshyre, Berrucsire, from Old English Bearrocsċīr. The first element is possibly from Proto-Brythonic *barrọg, perhaps meaning “hilly” (compare *barros (“hill, peak, top”)) + Old English sċīr (“shire, county”).

A learned borrowing from Latin praedictio, formed from predict plus -ion.

From Old French prophetie, from Latin prophetia, from Greek prophēteia, ultimately from pro- ("before") + phēmi ("to speak") — literally "speaking beforehand."

From Old English ēasterne, from east plus a suffix meaning "belonging to."

From Old English "norþerne," ultimately built from "north" plus a Germanic ending meaning "of that direction."

From Sanskrit kashmira, the origin of the region's name, passed into English through Hindustani and Persian.

* A variant of Tison. A nickname from Old French tison (“firebrand”). * A patronymic English surname, variant of Dyson, from Dennis + -son. * In the US, adopted by a German family who came to America (Germantown, PA) in 1683, originally named German Teisen "son of Theiss", which was short for Matthias. Original spellings were Theisen, Theissen, Teisen, Teison.

From Latin declarare, "to make clear" — from de- (intensifier) + clarus, "clear."

From an Anglo-Norman blending of two originally separate names: one from the Hebrew name behind "Simeon," meaning roughly "one who hears," and the other from an Old English/Old Norse name meaning "protector of victory" — the same root that gives us Sigmund.

Borrowed directly from Latin mōmentum, "movement, moving power" — the same root that gives us "moment."

From Latin "Nigellus," a diminutive of "niger" meaning "black," originally used to Latinize the Norman name Néel and the Irish name Neil.

From air + space, describing the sky as a controllable territory in the same way land or water can be.