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 French cyfre, ultimately from Arabic sifr meaning "zero" or "empty" — the same root that gives us the word "zero" itself.

Borrowed into English from French yourte or German Jurte, ultimately from a Turkic word for "dwelling place."

The mending sense comes from Middle English/Old French roots for weaving; the exclamation is simply a softened, "minced" form of damn.

From Ancient Greek heúrēka (\"I have found it!\"). Legend has it that the mathematician Archimedes shouted this after realising, while stepping into a bath, how to measure an object's density.

From crisp + -y, originally meaning "curly" in Middle English before shifting toward its modern food-related sense.

From lass plus the diminutive suffix -ie.

From Middle English flowndre, ultimately from Old Norse flyðra, the name of the fish.

From "logic" plus the adjective suffix "-al."

From Middle English tine/tyne, "very small," possibly related to the small pointed prong of a fork (a "tine").

From Old French imitacion, from Latin imitatio, built on the verb imitari, "to copy."

From Old English team, originally meaning offspring or a set of animals harnessed together to pull something — the sense of "a group working together" grew out of that image of animals pulling as one.

Borrowed from Italian opera, literally "work" — the same root that gives us "opus" and "operate."

From Old French usuel, from Latin usualis ("customary"), from usus ("use, custom").

From Old French aisié ("at ease, at leisure"), from aise — the same root that gives us "ease."

From Ancient Greek diskos, "a round plate for throwing" — the same root that also gives us "disc," "discus," "dish," and "desk."

From Ancient Greek topikós ("pertaining to a place or a common theme"), via Latin topica.

From Anglo-Norman/Old French revers, from Latin reversus, the past participle of reverto, "to turn back".

From Old French rural, from Latin rūrālis, from rūs ("countryside").

Spanish · 1800

Borrowed from Mexican Spanish marihuana in the 1800s; later folk stories linked it to the name "María Juana" (Mary Jane), though that origin is disputed.

From Old French examinacion, from Latin examinatio, built on examen ("a weighing, testing").

From Anglo-Norman rage, ultimately from Latin rabies, "madness" or "fury" — a distant cousin of the English word "rabies" itself.

From Latin laterālis, "belonging to the side", from latus ("the side, flank").

From Old English swift, "quick" — related to swivel, both tracing back to a root meaning "to twist or wind."

From Old French excellent, from Latin excellens, the present participle of excellere (see "excel").