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 Medieval Latin populatus, past participle of populor ("to people, inhabit"), from Latin populus ("people").

From Old English mos, "bog, marsh, moss", tracing back to a Proto-Germanic root shared with the Dutch and German words for moss — the plant and the "boggy ground" sense come from the same origin.

Like several other common male names used as slang for the penis (e.g. "peter"), "Johnson" was adopted as a euphemistic nickname.

From Old French issue, "a way out," from issir, "to exit," ultimately from Latin exire ("to go out"). The legal sense of "a disputed point" developed from the idea of the outcome of a court pleading.

Partly a back-formation from preparation, and partly borrowed from Middle French préparer, from Latin praeparare ("to make ready in advance"), from prae- ("before") plus parare ("to make ready").

A learned borrowing from Sanskrit pāli.

From Latin planus, "flat, level," via Old French plain — a doublet of "plane," "piano," and "llano."

Origin unknown; it appeared in the 1500s-1600s as a playful, mock-scholarly Latin-sounding coinage, in the same spirit as "hocus-pocus."

From shogun + -ate, a suffix marking rank or office.

From Old French escren, probably borrowed from a Dutch word for a shelter or barrier, ultimately from a Proto-Germanic root meaning covering or protection.

Borrowed from French carton, from Italian cartone — a doublet of "cartoon," which originally meant a large sheet of stiff paper used for sketches.

From un- + official.

From Middle English everidayes, "every day's," from every + day.

From in- ("not") plus formal.

Old French · 1500

Recorded from the late 1500s, likely from a rebracketing of "an otch," from Old French oche ("notch").

From Middle English wursnen, built from worse plus the verb-forming suffix "-en" (as in "sharpen" or "widen").

From Anglo-Norman emprouwer, ultimately from Vulgar Latin prode ("profitable, advantageous").

From Middle English neiþer, reshaped under the influence of "either" from an earlier form meaning "not whether/which of the two."

From Latin posterior, meaning 'that which comes after or behind,' the comparative form of posterus ('following').

From Old French examiner, from Latin examinare, "to weigh, test, consider carefully."

From back + pack.

From Old French specifier, ultimately from Latin specificus, "specific."

From Old French fort, "strong," from Latin fortis. It shares this root with "forte" and "fortify."

From Latin clāmor ("a shout, cry"), from clāmāre ("to cry out").