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 rebelle, from Latin rebellis ("waging war again"), from re- ("again") plus bellum ("war").

From Old English cyln, itself borrowed from Latin culina, "kitchen." The modern spelling keeps the old "-ln" ending that most similar words (like "mill") smoothed away over time.

The "barbecue" sense is simply a clipped, informal form of that word with the "-ie" diminutive ending. The doll is an unrelated trademark, a pet form of Barbara.

An old past-tense form of "bereave," related to the words leave and left.

A back-formation from diagnosis, ultimately from Greek diagignoskein ("to distinguish, discern").

From Greek hypo- ("under") + thermē ("heat") + -ia — literally "under-heat."

From Greek homo- ("same") + -phobia ("fear"), coined in the 20th century to describe hostility toward homosexuality.

From Italian piedistallo, literally "foot stand," borrowed into French and then English.

From Old English swifan, "to revolve," combined with the instrumental suffix -el; ultimately related to swift.

A blend of "breakfast" and "lunch", first recorded in British English in the 1890s before catching on in America decades later.

Probably a blend of Old English swamm ("fungus, sponge") and Middle English sompe ("marsh"), first widely recorded in colonial North America.

From Italian vulcano, named after Vulcano, a volcanic island in the Mediterranean itself named for Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.

From land + slide.

From Old French esplein and Latin splēn, ultimately from Greek σπλήν (splḗn), "the spleen" — historically the organ was believed to be the source of bad temper and melancholy, which gave rise to the figurative sense.

From Italian grottesco, "of a grotto/cave" — originally describing the fantastical, cave-wall style decorations found in ancient Roman ruins.

From Old French "preier," from Latin "precari" ("to beg" or "to entreat"), from "prex," meaning "request" or "prayer."

A compound of "free" and "fall."

From owner + -ship.

From Latin possidere, combining potis ("able, master") and sedere ("to sit"), suggesting the idea of being firmly settled in ownership.

From Latin instantia ("presence, urgency"), from instans ("urgent, pressing").

From "occur" plus the noun-forming suffix "-ence".

From Old French chalenge, ultimately from Latin calumnia ("false accusation") — a doublet of the word "calumny."

A blend of information and commercial.

From French commercial, from Late Latin commercialis, from Latin commercium ("commerce").