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 "fluorine" plus the chemical suffix "-ide," used for compounds formed with another element.

Coined from chlor(ine) + -ide by the British chemist Humphry Davy in 1812.

From French incandescent, from Latin incandescere, "to glow white-hot" — in- plus candescere, "to become white."

From Middle English Yorkschire; equivalent to York (“English city”) + shire. Displaced native cognate Middle English Everwich schire, from Old English Eoforwīcsċīr.

From Old Norse hvítr býr (“white town”). Equivalent to white + -by.

From Middle English, combining "holy" and an old word for flatfish — because it was traditionally eaten on holy days.

Onomatopoeic — the word imitates the sound itself.

From an Old Norse word for a beam or rafter — the same root that gives us "rafter."

A compound of "pin" and "ball."

From flip + the agent suffix -er.

Borrowed from Dutch walrus, itself a blend of wal ("whale") and ros ("horse") — an old sailors' description of the animal as part-whale, part-horse.

From Old English tux/tusc, going back to a Proto-Germanic word meaning "canine tooth", related to "tooth" itself.

From Middle English trottere, equivalent to trot + -er.

From over- + haul.

Compound of bag and pipe(s), describing the instrument's air reservoir and sounding pipes.

From Latin repellens, present participle of repellere, "to drive back." Formed from repel plus -ent.

From Middle English guschen, likely echoing the gurgling sound of water, related to gust.

First recorded in the late 17th century; likely related to Dutch schamperen and ultimately the same root as "scamp," meaning "to run away."

From Middle English cuffe/coffe, meaning "glove" or "mitten," of unclear earlier origin.

From Middle English thinking, thynkynge, thenkyng, equivalent to think + -ing.

From Spanish cargo ("load"), from cargar ("to load"), from Late Latin carricāre — a doublet of the English word "charge."

From sea + port.

From Latin inspector, from inspicere ("to inspect").

The plural of custom, in its older sense of "toll" or "tax."