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 French cloistre, going back to Latin claustrum, "a place shut in" — from claudere, "to close." The same root gives us "claustrophobia."

From impure plus the noun-forming suffix -ity, ultimately from Latin impuritas.

A straightforward compound of toe and nail.

From Old English fyst, going back to a prehistoric Germanic root possibly meaning "to punch or prick."

Unknown origin.

From Latin ēvidēns, "clear, apparent," from ē- ("out") + vidēre ("to see").

From Old English "wyrċing," the verbal noun of "wyrċan," meaning to work.

The verb comes from Old English ferian, "to carry," related to English "fare" (as in "thoroughfare"); the noun sense of a water crossing developed under the influence of Old Norse ferja.

From Middle French dynastie, ultimately from Ancient Greek dunasteía, meaning power or dominion.

From Old English sar ("pain, wound"), related to German sehr ("very") — the two words split from the same root, one keeping the sense of pain and the other becoming an intensifier.

From "tide" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-al."

From Latin magnanimus, from magnus ("great") + animus ("spirit, mind").

From symbol + -ism; the art-movement sense was borrowed from French symbolisme.

Formed from "gone" plus the agent suffix "-er"; first recorded around 1850.

From Greek paradoxos ("unexpected, contrary to opinion"), via Latin and French.

Likely an alteration of "recruit," possibly influenced by "rook" in the sense of an easy target for a con.

From Latin sordidus ("dirty, filthy"), from sordes ("dirt, filth").

From Late Latin catechismus, from Ancient Greek katekhizein, "to instruct orally."

Borrowed from Korean 평양(平壤) (Pyeong'yang), literally "flat land".

From Latin eradicare, "to root out," from e- ("out") + radix ("root") — the same root as "radish."

Built from anti- ("against") and Christ.

From Anglo-Norman vertuous, ultimately from Latin virtus, "moral excellence." Related to virtue and virtuoso.

Traces back through Old English and Latin to a Biblical Hebrew word for the hill on which ancient Jerusalem stood; the "Z" spelling was shaped later by German pronunciation.

From Latin Gabriel, from Greek Gabrīḗl, from Hebrew Gavriel, combining géver ("strong man") and ʾēl ("God").