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 Middle English croked, the past participle of croken ("to bend"), from the same root as "crook."

From Old English crafian, "to demand or beg" — the sense softened over time from a formal demand to a strong personal desire.

From Latin criticus, from Greek kritikos, "able to judge or discern," from krinein, "to judge."

From Old French loge ("an arbour, a covered walkway"), via Middle English logge. Ultimately related to Old High German louba ("porch, gallery"). A doublet of "loggia" and "lobby."

From Old French coart, built from coue ("tail"), likely picturing an animal fleeing with its tail between its legs — unrelated to "cower," despite the similar spelling.

From Middle English costly, formed from cost plus -ly.

From "lodge" plus the agent suffix "-er."

From the male name Roger, used from around the 1940s in military radio code as the word for the letter R — standing for "received".

From Old French concorde, from Latin concordia, from concors ("of one mind, agreeing") — con- plus cor, cordis ("heart"). Compare accord.

From Old French coment, from Late Latin commentum ("interpretation, comment").

From Old French cloque, "traveling cloak," ultimately from a Celtic word for "bell" — the garment was named for its bell-like shape. A doublet of "clock" and "cloche."

From Old English climban, "to climb," related to Old Norse and German words meaning to cling or stick — the same ancient root gave us "clay" and "glue," reflecting the idea of gripping something as you climb.

From the older form oversea, with -s added; compare German Übersee and Dutch overzees.

A calque (loan translation) of the German Übermensch, coined by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883); the English "superman" was popularised by George Bernard Shaw in 1903 and later reinforced by the DC Comics character, who debuted in 1938.

From cheat + the agent suffix -er.

From Middle English can not, cannot, cannouȝt, etc. (compare Old English ne cann), equivalent to can + not.

The "sweetheart" sense comes from Scots jo ("joy"), tracing back through Old French joie to Latin gaudia; a doublet of "joy."

Attested since the 1500s; probably from Low German lasich, "slack, feeble," though the exact origin is debated.

From Old English "blind," from a Proto-Germanic root of the same meaning.

From Middle English braggen ("to speak boastfully"), of uncertain origin, possibly linked to an Old Norse word meaning "best" or "foremost."

From Old English brū, an ancient word shared across many Indo-European languages for the ridge above the eye.

From Middle English blunt, of uncertain origin, possibly related to Old Norse blunda ("to doze").

From Old English bog/boh, meaning both "branch" and "shoulder" — the same ancient root that gave us the "bow" of a ship.

From bound ("a limit") plus the suffix -less, "without."