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 Old English crisp, "curly," from Latin crispus — originally describing curly hair, later extended to the crackly, brittle sense we use today.

From Old French crieor, from the verb crier, "to cry out or shout."

From Old French creste, ultimately from Latin crista, "tuft, comb" — a doublet of "crista".

From Latin crematio, built on cremare, "to burn" — the same root as "cremate".

From Northern Middle English crele, possibly related to an Old French word for a lattice or grille.

From Middle English crike, likely from Old Norse kriki — originally meaning a coastal inlet, the sense later broadened (especially in American and Australian English) to cover any small inland stream.

From an earlier English spelling related to crest, "ridge" — a crease was originally thought of as a small ridge left in folded fabric.

From Old English cearcian, "to creak or gnash," of imitative origin — the word was likely invented to sound like the noise it describes.

From Middle English crasen, "to shatter or break apart," from Old Norse — the modern "fad" sense developed later, as if popular enthusiasm were a kind of mental crack.

From Latin crater, "mixing bowl," borrowed from Greek — the shape of an impact hollow reminded early scientists of a large bowl.

From Dutch krat, "large box" or "basket" — related to the English word cart.

From Latin crassus, "thick" or "dense" — the word originally described physical bulk before it came to mean mentally or socially "thick" (insensitive).

From Middle English crany, likely from Old French cran ("notch"), of uncertain deeper origin.

From crank plus the adjective ending -y, related to a Low German word for "sickly" or "unwell".

From Old English crammian ("to stuff, cram"), from a Germanic root meaning to press or squeeze together.

From Old English cræftig ("skilful, powerful"), from the same root as craft — the meaning gradually shifted from general skill to cunning.

From Old English cradol, related to a Germanic root for a wicker basket — the same family as the word "cart".

From Old French contriciun, from Latin contritio, related to contrite.

From Old French continuation, from Latin continuatio, built from continue + -ation.

From Old French contingent, from Medieval Latin contingens, "possible," the present participle of contingere ("to touch, to happen") — com- ("together") + tangere ("to touch").

From Old French contemplation, from Latin contemplatio, built from contemplate + -ion.

From Latin contaminationem, from contaminare, "to defile or corrupt."

From Latin consummatio, from consummare ("to complete").

From Medieval Latin constipatio, from constipare, "to press together, crowd" — the same idea as things getting packed too tightly.