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 non- + partisan.

From normal + -ism.

From Anglo-Norman nounage, corresponding to non- + age.

From ornamental + -ist.

From orient (“to bring into alignment; to train”) + -ee (“forming passive agent nouns”).

From Middle English occupier, occupiour, from occupien + -er (equivalent to occupy + -er) or Middle French occupier, occupiour.

From offense + -less.

From non- + continuous.

From non- + admissible.

Borrowed from Latin ōrdō. Doublet of order.

From non- + materialist.

From non- + housing.

From Latin opācus (“shaded, shady, dark”) + -ous.

From obsessional + -ly.

From notch + back; compare hatchback.

From Middle English non-pertinent, equivalent to non (“not, not at all”, adverb) + pertinent.

Borrowed from Odia ଓଡ଼ିଆ (oṛiā). Which in turn is derived from Prakrit 𑀑𑀟𑁆𑀟𑀺𑀅 (ŏḍḍia), from Sanskrit औड्रिक (auḍrika, “relating to the Odras”), an adjective suffixed from the vriddhi of ओड्र (oḍra, “Odra”).

From non- + ownership.

From non- + atonement.

From Old Norse Niflheimr (literally “world of mist”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *nibilaz (“dark, misty”), from *nebulaz (“fog, mist, darkness”) + *haimaz (“home, house, village”).

From over- + clothed.

outdoorsmanship

From outdoorsman + -ship.

Borrowed from Medieval Latin olibanum, from Latin oleum libani, the first word meaning oil and the second from Ancient Greek λίβανος (líbanos, “frankincense (Boswellia sacra)”), from a Semitic source, compare Proto-Semitic *laban- (“white”). Cognate with Biblical Hebrew לְבוֹנָה (l'voná, “frankincense”), Arabic لبان (lubān, “frankincense”). (Compare benzoin for a similar process of metanalysis.) Doublet of oliban.

From Middle English overlien, overliggen, equivalent to over- + lie (“to be reclined”). Compare West Frisian oerlizze, German überliegen, Danish overligge, Swedish överligga, Norwegian overligge.