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 aurōra ("dawn"), also the name of the Roman goddess of the dawn.

From Old English wæterġefeall, formed from water plus fall.

A shortened form of "veterinarian" (the animal-doctor sense) and separately of "veteran" (the ex-soldier sense).

From French veste, from Latin vestis, "garment, clothing", ultimately from a root meaning "to be dressed" — related to the everyday word "wear".

By surface analysis, dyslexia + -ic. Piecewise doublet of dyslectic.

Coined in 1887 by German ophthalmologist Rudolf Berlin, from Greek dys- ("bad, difficult") and léxis ("word, diction").

From Middle French desastre, from Italian disastro — literally "ill-starred," from dis- ("bad") + astro ("star"), from Latin astrum.

From Old English "toll" ("duty, custom"), from a Germanic root meaning "that which is counted or reckoned" — related to "tell" and "tale."

A combination of "hair" and "style."

From Latin stilus, originally a pointed writing tool used on wax tablets; the sense shifted from the physical instrument to a "manner of writing" and eventually to any distinctive manner of doing something.

Formed from sex plus the suffix -ism, modeled on words like racism.

A spelled-out version of how "give me" is often pronounced in fast, informal speech.

From Old French "plummier", from Latin "plumbārius" (worker in lead) — plumbing pipes were traditionally made of lead.

Borrowed from Latin dēlēgātiō, dēlēgātiōnis, from dēlēgō: compare French délégation.

Formed from "pilgrim" plus the suffix "-age."

From Greek klima, "inclination, latitude" — ancient geographers divided the earth into zones ("climates") based on the angle of the sun.

As "corduroy trousers," a shortening of corduroys; otherwise simply the plural of cord.

From Old English tæcung, "instruction," built from teach plus "-ing."

From them + self, on the pattern of himself/herself, formed to match singular "they."

From Old English streċċan, meaning to extend or spread out, from a Proto-Germanic root related to being taut or rigid — the same root gives us "stark."

From Middle Dutch or Middle Low German stripe, related to modern Dutch streep and German Streifen, all meaning "stripe" or "band."

From Old English streaw, related to a root meaning "to strew" or scatter — straw is literally the stuff that gets strewn on the ground.

By surface analysis, sparkle + -ing.

From Old French cisdre/sidre, from Medieval Latin sicera, ultimately from a Hebrew word for a strong drink.