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.

Browse etymology by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Recently added

From elevate plus the agent suffix -or, meaning "something that raises."

From joy plus stick, first recorded around 1910 as "joy-stick" for an airplane's control stick. The exact connection to "joy" isn't clear.

From Old English nest, ultimately from a very old root meaning "where a bird sits down" — literally combining words for "down" and "to sit."

From Old French cave, from Latin cava ("hollow, cavity"), from cavus ("hollow"). It replaced the native Old English word sċræf.

A straightforward compound of "arm" and "pit", going back to Middle English.

An extended form of sir, with an unclear origin for its final vowel.

From Old English meatte, ultimately from Late Latin matta ("mat woven from rushes").

The word's exact origin is unclear, though it may be linked to "noddle," an old word for "head."

From Italian spaghetti, the plural of spaghetto ("a strand of spaghetti"), from spago ("string, twine").

A softened alteration of "bloody," used to swear without actually swearing.

From "tack" (in the sense of stickiness) plus the adjective ending "-y."

A shortened form of "Pakistani."

Formed from Jack plus the diminutive ending -ie.

Formed from "Jack" plus the diminutive ending "-y."

From black plus the diminutive suffix -y, originally used casually but now recognized as carrying a dated, offensive edge in its racial sense.

From Latin "praecedere," combining "prae-" ("before") and "cedere" ("to go") — literally "to go before."

Rhyming slang and euphemistic use of the common given name Richard, unrelated to the word "rich."

From Old French alkimie, from Medieval Latin alchemia, from Arabic al-kimiya, from Ancient Greek khumeia, "the art of alloying metals."

From Latin columna, "pillar, post," related to Latin collis ("hill") and ultimately to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "high, raised up."

From Old French circumcisiun, from Latin circumcisio, from circumcidere ("to cut around") — circum ("around") plus caedere ("to cut").

From Turkish dervis, from Persian darvish, "poor, mendicant."

Borrowed from Angloromani pal ("brother, friend"), from Romani phral, ultimately from the same Sanskrit root as "brother."

Borrowed via New Latin biographia from Ancient Greek bios ("life") and graphia ("writing") — literally "life-writing."

From auto- ("self") plus biography, from Greek bíos ("life") and gráphō ("write").