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.

Browse etymology by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Recently added

Likely from Middle English ruschen ("to make a rushing noise"), from Old English hrysċan, related to Proto-Germanic roots meaning "fast, quick."

From French monotonie, ultimately from Greek monotonia, "sameness of tone."

Borrowed via New Latin from Ancient Greek larynx, meaning "throat" or "windpipe."

From Greek psora ("itch") plus the medical suffix -sis, via Late Latin psoriasis.

Classical Latin

From Classical Latin Thūlē, Thȳlē, from Ancient Greek Θούλη (Thoúlē), Θῡ́λη (Thū́lē), of unknown origin, cognate with Middle English Tīle, Tȳle, from Old English Thȳle, Thīla, Thīle (variants of Þȳle) and Medieval Latin Tīle.

From Inuktitut ᐃᓄᐃᑦ (inuit), meaning "the people," singular ᐃᓄᒃ (inuk, "person").

From Old French continuer, from Latin continuare, "to make continuous, to join together."

From Middle English peddere, an old word for a hawker or traveling seller of uncertain origin.

From Latin seducere, "to lead astray," from se- ("away") + ducere ("to lead") — the same root as "duct" and "conduct."

From Sanskrit कृष्ण (kṛṣṇa), literally meaning "dark" or "black," ultimately traced to an ancient Proto-Indo-European root.

A 16th-century alteration of "sirly", from "sir" + "-ly" — originally meant "lordly" or "arrogant" before shifting to today's "grumpy" sense.

A double comparative formed from "less" plus "-er," which developed in Middle English even though "less" is already comparative.

Borrowed from French molécule, from New Latin molecula, a diminutive of Latin moles, "a mass."

From Old French depression, from Latin depressio, built on deprimere, "to press down."

From French inerte, from Latin iners, "inactive, unskilled" — in- + ars, "skill."

Formed from silicon plus the suffix -one, originally coined when chemists tried to make a silicon version of a ketone.

From French carbonate, built from "carbon" plus the chemistry suffix -ate, used for salts of acids.

Built from "bio-" (life) plus "chemistry."

From Latin improbabilis, from im- ("not") + probabilis ("probable").

Borrowed from French zigzag in the 18th century; possibly inspired by the shape of the letter Z, which appears twice in the word.

From Zephyrus, the Greek god of the gentle west wind.

From Latin praecisio, formed the same way as precise plus -ion.

From Middle French tonnelle ("net") or tonel ("cask"), related to Old English tunne, the ancestor of "tun."

From Old Norse visk, meaning "a bundle" — originally referring to a bundle of twigs used as a simple brush, later applied to the wire kitchen tool.