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 fēlīnus, from fēlēs, "cat" or "wildcat."

From Hindi/Sanskrit jangala, originally meaning rough, uncultivated land, before it came to mean dense tropical forest in English.

Formed from "hol-" (whole) plus the adjective suffix "-istic," related to "holism."

Origin disputed — theories link it to langur monkeys (via an Irish army regiment once stationed in India), to the word "languor," or to older Irish dialect words for a long, slender fish.

A shortening of German Wienerwurst, meaning "Vienna sausage", after the city where this type of sausage originated.

Borrowed from French module, from Latin modulus ("a small measure"), a diminutive of modus ("measure") — the same root as "mode" and "model."

From squat + the agent suffix -er — literally "one who squats."

From Old French parchemin, ultimately from Greek Pergamenos, "of Pergamon" — the ancient city (in modern-day Turkey) credited with developing this animal-skin writing material as a substitute for papyrus.

From Latin sensus, "sense," combined with the English suffix -ous.

From Late Latin sensualis, "endowed with feeling," from Latin sensus, "feeling, sense."

Coined in 1688 by the Swiss physician Johannes Hofer, combining Greek nostos ("homecoming") and algos ("pain"), originally to describe a medical condition of severe homesickness.

From Latin impeccabilis, "not liable to sin" (im- + peccare, "to sin, err").

From Latin immaculatus, "unstained," from im- ("not") plus maculatus ("spotted or stained").

From Old English recceleas, built from "reck" (to care or heed) plus the suffix "-less" — so literally "without care" or "heedless."

From Old French catalogue, from Late Latin catalogus, from Ancient Greek katalogos, "a list or register."

From un- + fit.

From in- plus appropriate.

From Latin frīvolus ("trifling, worthless"), with the English ending "-ous" added.

Origin uncertain; possibly related to the older slang word "skag," itself of unknown origin.

A learned borrowing from Latin praemeditatio.

Likely from an English dialect word hyke, "to walk vigorously," itself probably a Northern form of hitch.

Originally, a "stationer" was a bookseller with a fixed shop (unlike travelling peddlers); the word later narrowed to mean paper goods specifically.

From Latin stationarius, related to "station," a fixed place.

A softened version of "(God) blind me," used to avoid swearing outright.