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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 dialectal English swank, "to strut, show off," related to Proto-Germanic roots for swaying or bending.

Borrowed from Hindi svami, from Sanskrit svamin, "lord, master."

Probably from Old Norse sveggja, "to swing or sway."

Origin uncertain — possibly from Russian студент (studént, "student"), which once meant a stage assistant to a comedian; it may have come into English via Yiddish theatre slang.

From Ancient Greek stasis, meaning "a standing still" — the same root as the word stand.

A shortened, everyday form of "staphylococcus," itself from Greek staphylē ("bunch of grapes," describing how the bacteria cluster together under a microscope) + kokkos ("berry").

From German Spitz, "pointed," describing the breed's tapered muzzle.

From Middle English sparre, meaning "beam" or "rafter," related to a Germanic word for a stake or pole.

Borrowed via Dutch soja from Japanese shōyu, ultimately from Chinese characters meaning "bean paste" + "oil."

Borrowed from French sou, a coin worth one-twentieth of a livre.

First recorded in Virginia in the early 1800s; the name likely comes from an Indigenous language of that region, though its exact source is uncertain.

From Old English sopa, "a piece of bread soaked in liquid" — related to "sup" and a doublet of "soup."

From Ancient Greek sôma, "body".

Borrowed from French soirée, meaning "evening" or an evening event, from soir ("evening").

From Middle English sod/sodde, related to Middle Dutch and Low German words for turf, of uncertain deeper origin.

From Old English snell ("lively, quick"), related to German schnell ("fast") and Dutch snel.

Related to Middle English words for thin, fluid mud, and closely connected to "slur" — both describe something runny and messy.

Probably an altered form of "shoot," coined in the 1920s for the clay-target sport.

From Old French sire, from Latin senior ("older"). A doublet of "sir" and "senior."

A blend formed from "silicon" and "magnesium."

From Middle English silte, possibly related to a verb meaning "to filter or strain," and to Germanic words for a salty marsh.

From Middle English words meaning "to jerk, swerve, dodge," possibly linked to "shun."

Borrowed from Japanese 障子 (shōji).

First recorded around 1915, from Romani chive/chiv, meaning "knife."