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 Latin competitor, from competere, "to strive together."

From Old French polie, ultimately from Ancient Greek πόλος (pólos), "pivot, axis." Later linked to the verb "pull" by folk etymology.

A compound of "sand" and "stone", tracing back through Old English to a Proto-West Germanic word for sand and gravel.

From Old English flint, from Proto-Germanic roots meaning "to split" — reflecting how the stone fractures into sharp flakes.

Built from the prefix "dys-" (bad, abnormal) attached to "function".

From French rôle, ultimately from Medieval Latin rotulus, "a small roll" — since actors' scripted parts were originally written on a rolled sheet.

From Middle English "on lesse (than)," meaning "on a lesser condition than" — over time this shifted into the negative-sounding "unless."

From Old French endurer, from Latin indūrāre ("to make hard"), the same root as "endurance" and "dure."

Borrowed directly from Italian basta, "(it is) enough."

From gun + powder.

Russian · 1919

Named after its Russian inventor, Mikhail Kalashnikov (1919-2013).

From slam plus the agent suffix -er — literally "something that gets slammed."

From Old English dyppan, related to the word "deep."

From Middle English hoppere, built from hop + -er ("one who hops" or "thing that hops").

From "fizz" plus the adjective suffix "-y."

From Old English clerc, ultimately from Greek klerikos, "of the clergy" — in medieval times, clerks were often literate churchmen, since few others could read or write.

From Late Middle English dorsal, borrowed from Medieval Latin dorsalis ("of the back"), from dorsum ("the back").

From French bouger, "to move" — echoed in the dance-floor sense of moving to the beat.

From un- ("not") plus equivocal, from Latin aequivocus ("having the same sound but different meaning").

Named in honor of the scientist Galileo Galilei (1564-1642).

From Middle English mouse-trappe, a straightforward combination of "mouse" and "trap." The web-browser sense borrows the trap idea for a page that won't let you leave.

From Latin praecox, \"ripening early,\" from praecoquere, \"to ripen beforehand\" — literally related to cooking or ripening ahead of schedule. Surprisingly, "apricot" comes from the very same root.

Named after Blarney Castle in Ireland, home of the Blarney Stone, which legend says gives whoever kisses it the gift of persuasive speech.

From bump + the agent suffix -er, describing something that bumps or absorbs an impact.