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 Anglo-Norman poket, a diminutive of poke/poque ("bag, sack"), from Frankish *pokō ("pouch").

From Old English ranc, "proud" or "strong-growing," via Old French rang, "a row" — the same root that gives us range and arrange.

Borrowed directly from French milieu, "middle" or "surroundings," from Old French mi- ("middle") plus lieu ("place").

From Old French mondain, from Late Latin mundanus, from Latin mundus ("world").

From intra- ("within") + venous ("relating to veins"), literally "inside the veins."

From Latin sub- ("under") plus cutis ("skin").

Formed from "sanitary" plus the noun ending "-ation".

Formed from deny plus the noun suffix -al.

The "add up" sense is a clipping of total; the "small child" sense developed separately in English dialect use.

From nip + -er, "one that nips" — originally used for anything that pinches, later extended affectionately to small children.

From Old Norse skrap, related to a verb meaning \"to scrape or scratch.\"

Formed from hear plus -ing.

From Old Northern French pouche, from Old French poche, ultimately from a Frankish word for a bag — the same root that gave us poke and pocket.

From wish plus bone, named for the tradition of making a wish while snapping it.

Originally from Old English lād, "way, course, journey" — the "burden" meaning branched off in Middle English by association with the unrelated verb "lade."

From Old English giellan, meaning "to yell" or "to resound" — related to words for shrieking sounds across the older Germanic languages.

From "hang" + "-ing."

From Middle English felynge, built from feel + the ending -ing.

From Anglo-Norman feble, ultimately from Latin flebilis, "tearful, pitiable" — a doublet of the word foible.

"Shakespeare" plus "-ean".

From Old French usurper, from Latin usurpare ("to make use of, seize for use").

A diminutive of longer given names such as Tamara or Tamsin.

From Old French repentant, present participle of repentir, "to repent."

From Middle French mystérieux, ultimately from Latin mysterium ("mystery").