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 English hlāf ("bread"), the same root that gave us "lord" (originally "loaf-keeper") and "lady" ("loaf-kneader").

From Old French escare, "scab," blending with a separate Middle English word for a cut or notch — ultimately from Greek eskhara, "scab left by a burn."

A compound of "birth" and "mark" — a mark present since birth.

From Greek embryon, literally "that which grows within," from en- ("in") plus bryein ("to swell, grow").

From bake plus the suffix -ery, meaning "place of." It replaced the older English word bakehouse.

Borrowed from Greek autonomía, "independence," built from autónomos, "living under one's own laws."

From Old French dozaine, "a group of twelve," from Latin duodecim ("twelve").

From Greek diaphragma ("partition"), from dia- ("across") + phragma ("barrier, fence").

From Latin exhalare, "to breathe out" — ex- plus halare ("to breathe").

From Old French loigne, ultimately from Latin lumbus ("loin"). A doublet of the rare English word "lend" (an old term for loin).

From Old English þēoh, an old Germanic word for this part of the leg.

From Latin inhalare, "to breathe on," from "in-" + halare ("to breathe").

From Old English hype, from Proto-Germanic *hupiz.

A blend of "kick" and "boxing"; the sport as we know it took shape in Japan in the 1960s, mixing striking styles from several martial arts traditions.

A straightforward compound of lip and stick.

From German "Boxer," from "boxen" ("to box, to strike with the fists") plus the agent suffix "-er."

From "box" (to punch) plus the "-ing" suffix that forms the name of an activity.

From an older English word meaning "to break wind quietly" — the current sense of "petering out" developed later from the idea of a weak, fading hiss.

From Old French "esclot," likely related to an Old Norse word meaning "track," and possibly connected to "sleuth."

From Old French rabatre, related to abate — both trace to a root meaning "to beat down."

From Old French umilité, from Latin humilitas ("lowness"), from humilis ("low, humble") — the same root as humble.

From Old English tumbian ("to fall, dance"), related to German taumeln ("to stagger") — describing the uncontrolled, rolling nature of the fall.

Built from "fact" plus the ending "-ual," on the pattern of "actual."

From Old French "baie," from Late Latin "baia," possibly from an Iberian or Basque word for an inlet of the sea.