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 French dégradation, built from "degrade" + "-ation."

From French dégénération, from Latin dēgenerātiō — the noun form of "degenerate."

From Old French desfier, ultimately from Latin dis- ("away") + fidus ("faithful") — originally meaning to renounce loyalty, later shifting to mean "challenge."

From de- + fuse.

From Old French diffamacion, from Latin diffāmātiō, built on the same root as "defame."

From deep + the verb-forming suffix -en, the same pattern seen in "widen" and "harden."

From Old French dedicacion, from Latin dēdicātiō, built on dēdicātus.

From Latin decoratio, matching French décoration; built from decorate + -ion.

From Middle Dutch dec, "roof, covering," related to Dutch decken, "to cover" — the same root gives us "thatch."

From Old French deceite, from decevoir ("to deceive"), ultimately from Latin decipere, "to catch out, cheat."

From French décapitation, built the same way as "decapitate."

From French débâcle ("a breaking up" or "unleashing"), from débâcler, "to unbar" — originally used for ice breaking up on a river and the flood that followed.

From Anglo-Norman deen, ultimately from Latin decanus (originally "head of ten"), a doublet of the word doyen.

From Middle English, related to Old Norse words meaning "to become weary" — the modern sense of confused or stunned developed from that root.

From Old French dent de lion ("lion's tooth"), a reference to the plant's sharply toothed leaves — the same image survives in German Löwenzahn and Italian dente di leone.

From Old French dampnacion, from Latin damnatio, from the same root as "damn."

From Anglo-Norman delaier, the same root that gives us "delay."

From Medieval Latin custumarius, from custom + the adjective ending -ary.

From Medieval Latin cultivatus plus "-ion," or via Middle French cultivation.

From French culmination, ultimately from Latin culmen ("summit, top").

Formed from crusade plus the agent suffix -er, meaning "one who takes part in a crusade".

From French crucial, originally a medical term for the cross-shaped knee ligaments (from Latin crux, "cross"); the modern sense of "decisive" comes from Francis Bacon's use of the idea of a signpost at a fork in the road, where a critical choice must be made.

From Middle English crouchen, related to "crook" — ultimately from an Old Norse word for a hook, describing the bent shape of the body.

Borrowed from Hindustani karoṛ, a native South Asian numbering term.