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.

Browse etymology by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Recently added

From Old English ǣr ("early, before"), the same root that gives us "early" and "erstwhile."

From Old English eln, "forearm," from an ancient root meaning "elbow" — the unit was originally just a forearm's length.

From Middle English eddy, built from the old prefix ed- ("back, again") plus ea ("water") — literally water that turns back on itself.

A shortening of "dynamo-electric machine", built from the Greek root dúnamis, meaning power.

Simply "dye" plus the agent suffix "-er" — someone who dyes.

From Old English dunn, "dingy brown" — an ancient Germanic colour word related to "dusk."

From Russian dúma, originally meaning "thought" or "counsel," later applied to elected legislative councils.

Named after Duffel, a town in Belgium once known for producing this heavy woolen cloth.

Representing a northern England and Scots pronunciation of dough.

Traces back through Latin Druidae to a Celtic word possibly meaning "oak-knower" or "one of great wisdom."

From Old French drame, going back through Late Latin to Ancient Greek drakhmē, "a handful" or unit of weight — the same root that gives us "drachma."

From Middle English douen, from Old English dugan, from Proto-West Germanic *dugan, from Proto-Germanic *duganą.

From Middle English doten, "to be foolish," related to Middle Dutch and Low German words meaning much the same.

From Old English dora ("humming insect"), related to the word "drone," which also originally meant a buzzing insect.

From Old English dāl, "portion, share" — related to the word "deal."

From Venetian doxe, from Latin dux, "leader" — the same root that gives us "duke" and "duce."

From Old English dōere, simply "do" plus the agent suffix "-er."

From Dobbin, a traditional common name given to workhorses in English-speaking farming communities.

Formed from "distant" + -al.

From Old English dynt, meaning a blow or strike, related to the same Germanic root as "dent."

Possibly from dib ("to dab lightly") plus the frequentative suffix -le, though dibble is actually recorded earlier than dib.

The dairymaid sense traces back to Old English daege ("bread-maker" or "dairymaid"), the same root that gave us "dairy" and "lady." The Algerian ruler's title is an unrelated borrowing via Ottoman Turkish.

Named after the Scottish scientist James Dewar, who is credited with inventing the vacuum flask.

From Old French deis, ultimately from Latin discus ("disc" or "table"), itself from Greek diskos.