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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Built from melodrama plus the suffix -tic, on the pattern of "dramatic."

From French mélodrame, ultimately from Greek melos ("song") plus drama — originally a stage drama with musical accompaniment at emotional moments.

From Middle English melowe ("ripe, soft, juicy"), likely tracing back to Old English words for ground grain or for something soft and tender — the exact root is debated by etymologists.

From Middle English mase, related to an Old English word for bewilderment — the same root gave us "amaze".

From Old French merveille ("a wonder"), from Latin mirabilia, "wonderful things" — the same root as "miracle" and "admire."

From French marge, from Latin margo — a doublet of margin and margo.

From Old French maniere, ultimately from Latin manus ("hand") — the original sense was close to "handling" or "way of handling something."

From "mam" plus the diminutive suffix "-y."

Probably from The Mall, a famous street in London that began life as an alley for the game of pall-mall.

From Middle English lukky, built from luck plus the adjective-forming suffix -y — essentially "full of luck."

From "low" plus the adjective/adverb suffix "-ly."

Likely from Old English lutan, "to bow or stoop," which shifted over time to describe a clumsy, uncouth person.

From Old English hlot, meaning a portion, share, or object used to make a chance decision — the same root behind "lottery" and "lotto."

From Old English gelōma, "tool" or "utensil" — the weaving-machine sense developed later, and the "appear threateningly" sense of the verb grew from the idea of something bulky slowly coming into view.

From Old English wlisp ("stammering"), going back to a Proto-Germanic root meaning much the same thing.

From Old French linage, ultimately from Latin linea ("line") — the idea of a family "line" running through generations.

From Old English limpan ("to hang down"), related to a Germanic root meaning "to hang loosely" — the same idea behind something going soft or floppy.

From Middle English, a shortened form of "in lik wise" ("in like manner") — built from like plus -wise.

Formed from life + like, describing something that looks or behaves like a living thing.

From Old French liege, tracing back through Middle High German ledic ("free") to a Germanic root meaning unrestricted or unattached.

A learned borrowing from Latin liberatus, "set free," the past participle of libero, "to free" — ultimately from liber, "free." Not related to deliberate, despite the visual overlap.

From Old French lier ("to bind"), from Latin ligare ("to bind, tie").

From Latin letalis, "deadly," from letum, "death."

A contraction of Old English forms meaning roughly "whereby less that" — literally "so that it be less the case that."