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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Chinese · 1600

Likely from a Hokkien Chinese word for fish sauce, passed through Malay into English in the late 1600s; early English "ketchup" referred to various savory sauces long before tomato ketchup became standard in the 19th century.

From Middle French relinquir, from Latin relinquere, "to leave behind" — from re- plus linquere, "to leave."

Clipping of nutmeg.

Borrowed from Spanish/Portuguese mulato, related to mulo ("mule"), possibly alluding to mixed origin.

From Spanish blanco, "white," used in English mainly as a brand name for a whitening polish and later turned into a verb.

German for "Germany" — Deutsch ("German") + Land ("land").

A compound of melt and down, first used literally for reactors before spreading to financial and emotional crises.

From Old French permissible, ultimately from Latin permittere ("to allow").

From Old French immobile, from Latin immobilis, "not movable" (im- + mobile).

From Middle English certeynly; equivalent to certain + -ly.

From air (“substance constituting Earth’s atmosphere”, noun) and air (“to bring (something) into contact with the air; to let fresh air into (a place); to make public (an opinion, etc.); to broadcast (something)”, verb) + -ing (suffix forming nouns or noun-like terms from verbs, denoting acts of doing something, actions, or the embodiment of action; and forming the present participles of verbs).

Borrowed from French féminisme around 1837, from Latin femina ("woman"). It originally meant simply "the state of being feminine" in English before taking on its modern political sense around 1895.

From Greek Oidipous, literally "swollen foot", referring to an injury he received as an abandoned infant.

Origin uncertain — often claimed as an acronym for "non-educated delinquent," but that's a later invented backronym, not the real source. It may be linked to the given name Ned (a nickname for Edward), though the connection isn't confirmed.

Grew out of "bespeak," meaning to arrange or order something in advance — so a bespoke suit was, historically, one "spoken for" ahead of time.

From Latin exūberāns, "overflowing" — from the same udder-related root as "exuberance."

A variant spelling of Sean, from Irish Seán, ultimately from the Hebrew name meaning "God is gracious."

From Latin opacus ("shaded, dark"), via Middle English opake, later reshaped by French opaque.

From Latin "translucentem," present participle of "translucere" — "trans-" ("across") plus "lucere" ("to shine").

From Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare, reinterpreted in modern slang as a critical label.

From Ancient Greek Artemis; the deeper origin of the name is uncertain.

From Old English ǣfnung, "becoming evening," derived from ǣfen ("eve").

From Middle English sniffen, thought to imitate the sound of the action.

From Middle English plentiful, built from plenty + -ful.