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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Borrowed from French divorcée, from divorce plus the suffix -ee.

From Old French divination, from Latin divinatio, related to divinus, "of a god".

From Latin dīversus, "turned different ways," the past participle of dīvertere, "to turn aside" — the same root that gives us divert. A doublet of divert.

From Old French desputer, from Latin disputare, "to examine or discuss," from dis- ("apart") + putare ("to reckon, consider").

From Old French desprover, from des- + prover ("to prove").

From dis- + please, via Old French desplere.

From Latin dispergere, "to scatter about" — from dis- ("apart") + spargere ("to scatter"), the same root as "sparse".

From Old French despensacion, from Latin dispensatio, "a weighing out or management" — related to "dispense".

From Latin dispellere, "to drive apart or scatter" — from dis- ("apart") + pellere ("to push, drive").

From Old French esmaier, "to frighten," probably from a Vulgar Latin word meaning "to deprive of strength" — ultimately related to the same root as "may" and "main" (as in "with might and main").

From Old French, ultimately from Medieval Latin dislocatio, meaning "a putting out of place."

From disintegrate plus the suffix -ion, describing the process or result of coming apart.

From French disgracier, built from dis- plus grace — literally the loss of favor or grace.

From dis- ("reverse of") plus embark, tracing back to French bark/barque, meaning "boat" — so disembark literally means to leave the boat.

From Latin discriminatio, the noun form of discriminare, "to distinguish, separate."

From Latin discrepantia, "disagreement," from discrepare, "to sound differently" — built from dis- plus crepare, "to rattle or creak."

From Old French desconter, "to reckon off," from Medieval Latin discomputare — built from dis- plus computare, "to count."

Built from discolor plus the noun suffix -ation.

From French disque, from Latin discus, from Ancient Greek diskos ("disk, quoit, platter").

From dis- + avow, or from Old French desavouer.

From Middle English disareyen, via Middle French desarroyer, from des- ("dis-") + areer ("to array").

From Middle English desarmen, from Anglo-Norman desarmer.

From Old English "dile", ultimately from a Proto-Germanic word of uncertain, likely non-Indo-European origin.

From dilate plus the suffix -ion, first used in this form in the late 1500s.