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 fortunate plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

From Latin fortunatus, "lucky," from fortuna, "fortune, luck."

From Canadian French algonquin, likely from an Indigenous phrase meaning either "these are our relatives" or "at the place of spearing fish".

Borrowed from Scots gumption ("common sense, shrewdness, drive"); its deeper roots are unclear, though it may be connected to an old word meaning "attention" or "heed".

Coined in 1865 by British scholar John Lubbock from neo- ("new") + -lithic ("of stone"), to distinguish the later, farming-based Stone Age from the earlier Paleolithic.

From Latin putridus, "rotten," related to putreo, "to be rotten."

Borrowed from Russian names for these two letters, "ер" and "ерь".

An abbreviation of "oh my God," first recorded in a 1917 letter, long before its explosion in text messaging.

A shortened, informal pronunciation of \"brother.\"

Formed from "amnesia" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-ac", on the same pattern as "maniac".

Formed from "rail" plus "-ing."

From Hindi/Urdu लाख / لاکھ (lākh), from Sanskrit lakṣa.

From Old French message, from Late Latin missaticum, based on Latin mittere ("to send").

From Dutch pinkje, "little finger."

From off plus side.

From Old French argent, "silver," from Latin argentum.

From dialect words like "boggart" or "buggard," related to "bogey" — originally a word for a scary or troublesome creature before it narrowed to nose-related slang.

From smooth plus the noun-forming suffix -ie.

From Latin causticus, from Greek kaustikos, "burning," from kaustos, "burnt."

From virus plus the adjective-forming suffix -al.

From bomb + shell, originally an artillery shell, later applied figuratively to shocking news.

Partly from an old verb meaning "to splash or dabble," and partly from a Middle English word for a small spade-like tool.

From Old English brynstan, literally "burn-stone" — the rock that burns. It's the same word family as burn and stone, and today survives mostly in the phrase "fire and brimstone."

Formed from wedge plus the informal -ie ending, since the prank literally wedges clothing between the buttocks.