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 Hindi champo, an instruction meaning "press!" or "knead!", from a verb for massaging the body — it originally described a warm-water body massage before it came to mean hair washing in English.

From Middle English "on comynge," a combination of "on" and "coming."

From up + coming — literally "coming up" toward the present.

From Latin magister ("master, teacher"), from magis ("more, greater"). A doublet of maestro, master, and meister.

From Old French chanel, from Latin canalis ("groove, canal") — a doublet of "canal."

Likely from Shakespeare's adaptation of the Hebrew name Yiskah.

From future + the adjective-forming suffix -istic.

Diminutive + -y

From Old French mincier ("to cut into small pieces"), related to Old English words meaning "to make smaller" — ultimately from the same root as "minus" and "minor".

Borrowed from Spanish cholo, whose ultimate origin is uncertain.

From Latin terrestris, "of the earth," from terra, "land, earth."

From Slav plus the suffix -ic.

From earth plus -ling, a suffix meaning "one belonging to."

From Middle English hovel, a diminutive related to Old English hof ("dwelling, court"), the same root behind "hover."

From Old French preservacion, ultimately from "preserve" plus "-ation."

From Mecca, the holiest city in Islam in Saudi Arabia, which Muslims are required to visit on pilgrimage; the word later broadened to describe any must-visit destination for enthusiasts of any kind.

Origin debated; likely an independent development from an older word meaning "to flutter or flap," though often confused with "flak."

From Ancient Greek epilēptikós, from epilambánein, "to seize upon" — the same idea behind the word "epilepsy" itself.

From the trademark Biro, named after László Bíró, the Hungarian-born inventor who patented the modern ballpoint pen in the late 1930s.

Coined by Apple from "i-" plus "pod," suggesting a small pod for storing music — reportedly inspired by a line from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

From the Hoover brand name, one of the earliest popular vacuum cleaner makers, later generalized into everyday British usage for any vacuum cleaner.

* The programming language is named after American logician Haskell Curry (1900–1982). * As an English surname, from the Middle English personal name Askell, from Old Norse Áskell. Compare Axtell, Askin, Haskin, Hasty, Astin. * As a surname in the Isle of Man, a variant of Castell, itself related to the above. * As a Jewish surname, from Khaskl, a Yiddish form of Yeḥezqel, see Ezekiel.

Likely an alteration of the older word "simper" in the sense "to make a faint bubbling sound," first recorded in cookery in the late 1400s.

Shaped by the blending of Old French "diminuer" (from Latin "dīminuo") with the older English word "minish", both meaning to make smaller.