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 Tigger, the bouncy tiger character created by A. A. Milne in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories.

From Sanskrit Hanumān.

From Old French porpois, from Vulgar Latin porcopiscis, literally "hog-fish" — from porcus ("pig") and piscis ("fish").

From Greek delphís, related to a word for "womb" — from Middle English delphyn via Latin delphinus.

A blend of "electro-" and "execution," coined in the US in the late 1880s alongside the electric chair.

From "Doll," a pet form of the name Dorothy, which came to be applied to toy figures and, later, to attractive people.

From Latin Medūsa, from Greek Μέδουσα (Médousa), related to a verb meaning "to rule" or "to protect."

A shortened form of "biotechnology."

From "biology" plus the adjective ending "-ical."

Named after County Kerry in Ireland, where the breed originated.

Borrowed from German Schnorchel, related to schnarchen ("to snore") — named for its resemblance to a nose, and possibly for the noise it makes.

From Latin "normalis," meaning "made according to a carpenter's square," and later "according to a rule." The modern sense of "usual" or "healthy" developed in the 1800s as scientists began measuring things like height and blood pressure and calling the common values "normal."

From Old English pin, ultimately from Latin pinus, the same root that gives us "pineapple."

From Middle English robous, meaning building waste or broken stone — its exact origin before that is uncertain.

Originally meant the waste parts of a butchered animal, from Anglo-Norman via Old French garber, "to clean up or refine" — the sense later widened to any rubbish.

Imitative in origin — the word was invented to mimic the sound it describes.

From dough plus nut — originally small, nut-sized fried dough balls; the now-familiar ring shape became standard in the 20th century. First recorded in Washington Irving's writing in 1809.

From Old Norse froða, meaning "foam" — the same root gave Old English āfrēoþan, "to foam."

From Old English fām, an old Germanic word related to German Feim and distantly to Latin spuma ("foam").

From Old English spunge, borrowed from Latin spongia, which came from Greek spongos.

From the Roman name, Latin Pompeiopolis, named for Pompey, Roman general who founded it in 68 BC.

Borrowed from Spanish Bilbao, itself of Basque origin.

Named after Bilbao, the Spanish city famous for producing this style of blade.

From Late Latin creativus, from Latin creare, "to create."