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 repraesentatio, built on repraesentare ("to present again") — the noun form of "represent."

From Old English twincian ("to wink, twinkle"); the gay-slang sense developed much later as a separate usage.

From French diagramme, from Greek diagramma, from dia- ("across") + graphein ("to write, draw").

Chosen in the early 1900s purely because its Morse pattern (three dots, three dashes, three dots) is short and easy to send and recognize — not, despite popular belief, an abbreviation for "save our souls" or "save our ship."

A trademarked brand name first registered by the National Biscuit Company in 1912; its exact origin is disputed, with theories ranging from the French word for "gold" (or) to a simple invented name. The slur sense plays on the cookie's black-outside, white-inside appearance.

From watch + dog.

A clipping of "temporary" (for the job sense) and of "temperature" (for the measurement sense).

First recorded in English in 1548, from French cimeterre or Italian scimitarra, ultimately traced back to a Persian word for "sword."

From Old English heortlēas, literally "without a heart" — originally could also mean cowardly, though the "cruel, unfeeling" sense is now dominant.

From French macabre, of uncertain origin — possibly linked to the phrase "danse macabre" ("dance of death"), which may trace back to the biblical Maccabees.

A back-formation from "collaborator", ultimately from Latin collaborare, "to work together with".

From Old English þawian, "to thaw" — an old Germanic word for melting ice or snow.

From Old French lardier, related to "lard" — originally a place for storing bacon.

From super- + nova (Latin for "new") — a "new star" that appears far brighter than an ordinary one.

A dialectal Northern English form of an older word, "bowse," meaning to drink deeply.

Short for "line-of-battle ship," first recorded in the late 1700s; later shortened again to "battleship."

From Middle English tip/typ, from a Proto-Germanic word for a small pointed end.

Slang from African American Vernacular English, deliberately spelled to look distinct from the ordinary word "fat" even though it grew out of the same word.

From Greek arrhythmia, "lack of rhythm" — built from a- ("without") plus rhythmos ("rhythm").

First recorded in the early 1800s, likely borrowed from French bah.

An informal, run-together spelling of "damn it."

A run-together form of "damn it", said quickly as one word.

An altered, softened form of "God," first recorded in the phrase "by gosh" in the 1750s.

From French intrépide, from Latin intrepidus, from in- ("not") + trepidus ("anxious, nervous") — literally "not nervous."