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 Middle English swety, built from "sweat" plus "-y."

From Old English græf ("cave, grave, trench"), related to the word "groove". The adjective sense is a separate, later borrowing from Latin gravis ("heavy, serious").

From Old French bargaignier, tracing back to a Germanic root meaning "to borrow or lend" — the sense shifted over time from lending to trading and negotiating.

From Late Latin technicus, based on the Ancient Greek word tekhnikos, meaning "skilful," from tekhne, "skill" or "craft."

From technical plus the noun suffix "-ity."

Swedish · 1701

Named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701 to 1744), who devised an early version of the scale.

Originally chitmunk, from an Ojibwe word meaning roughly "those who descend headlong", later reshaped by influence from "chip".

Borrowed directly from Spanish chinchilla.

From Latin liquor ("fluid, liquid"), from liquere ("to be liquid"). A doublet of liqueur.

From engineer + the suffix -ing.

A compound of "water" and "-proof," meaning resistant to or protected against water.

From Old French prove, from Late Latin proba ("a proof"), from Latin probō ("to test, to prove"). A doublet of probe.

From Latin testamentum, "a will", related to testis, "a witness" — the same root behind "testify" and "testimony", since a will is essentially a person's witnessed final wishes.

From Italian lotteria, ultimately related to the Old English word "hlot," the ancestor of "lot."

From Latin agricultura, from ager ("field") + cultura ("cultivation") — literally "the cultivation of fields."

From Old English stiche, meaning "a prick, puncture, or sharp pain" — the same root gave us "stick."

From French coupon, from couper meaning "to cut" — coupons were originally literal slips cut off a larger sheet or certificate.

From Old English staca, a pin or stake, related to a very old root simply meaning "stake" or "pin."

From Late Latin prostitutio, built from prostitute plus the noun-forming suffix -ion.

From French artiste, from Late Latin artista, from ars ("art").

From Old English docce (the plant name); the harbour and courtroom senses developed later in Middle English from related Germanic words for a low or muddy place.

From Latin aequitas, "fairness, evenness," from aequus ("equal, fair").

From Anglo-Norman veneisoun ("meat of large hunted game"), from Latin vēnātiō ("hunting; meat from a hunt"), from vēnor ("to hunt").

From Middle French athéiste, from Greek atheos ("godless"), from a- ("without") + theos ("god").