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 Latin curtus, "shortened" — the same root gives us "curtail" and, through French, "short" as a doublet.

From Old English behēafdian, built from be- plus "head," meaning literally to remove the head.

From Old English earc, from Latin arca, "chest, box," from arcere, "to enclose."

From Old English dweorg, going back to a very old Germanic word for a small, sometimes magical, being.

From Latin simulatio, from simulare ("to imitate").

From Ancient Greek Hḗrā, a name of uncertain origin.

From Old French principal, from Latin prīncipālis ("first, foremost").

From Old French "butin" ("loot" or "plunder"), borrowed into Middle English; the "buttocks" sense developed much later as slang, possibly influenced by "boot."

A learned borrowing from Latin cannabis, from Ancient Greek kánnabis, "hemp." A doublet of "canvas."

From Latin centi- ("hundred") + gradus ("step, degree") — literally "having a hundred steps".

From Old English clǣg, tracing back to a very old root meaning "to stick together" — the same root that eventually gave English the word "glue."

From Old French bonté, "goodness," from Latin bonitas — the reward sense developed later in English.

From Latin catapulta, from Ancient Greek katapeltes, from kata- ("down, against") plus pallein ("to hurl a missile").

Borrowed from French savant, "learned person," from Latin sapiō, "to be wise." The narrower "gifted talent" sense comes from the older term idiot savant.

Borrowed from Latin dēductus, the past participle of dēdūcere ("to lead away, subtract").

From sharpen plus the agent suffix -er, "one that sharpens."

From Middle English scharpenen, formed from sharp plus the verb-forming suffix -en.

Formed from girl + the adjective-forming suffix -ish.

From magnet + the noun-forming suffix -ism.

From magnet + the adjective suffix -ic; "magnet" traces back through Latin and Greek to Magnesia, a region associated with naturally magnetic stone.

From a Balti word meaning "ball," reaching English via the game's spread from Central Asia through British colonial India.

From Latin redundans, \"overflowing,\" from red- (\"back, again\") plus undare (\"to surge like a wave\").

From Hindustani yār, tracing back to Classical Persian yār.

Italian · 1600

Borrowed in the early 1600s, most likely from Italian tanto montare ("to amount to as much"), or from an Anglo-Norman phrase with the same meaning.