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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Borrowed straight from French chez ("at the house of"), from Latin casa ("hut, cottage") — making it a distant cousin of the English word "casa."

From Old French mireor ("mirror," literally "one who looks"), from Latin mīror ("to wonder at").

A shortening of "mathematics."

Borrowed from Hokkien 著 (tio̍h).

From Hokkien niā, meaning "only."

From Greek mathēmatikós, "on the matter of that which is learned," from máthēma, "knowledge, learning."

A shortened form of gentlemen.

From Old English goddohtor, a straightforward compound of god and daughter.

From Old English godsunu, literally "god-son" — a son in a spiritual rather than a blood sense.

From Old English godmodor, a compound of god and mother.

From Old English godfaeder, a compound of god and father.

From French morgue. The newspaper sense grew out of the mortuary sense, by way of an old meaning "a place where things sit unclaimed and unused."

From Late Latin dioecesis, ultimately from Greek dioikēsis meaning "administration" — originally a Roman administrative district before the Church adopted it.

The eating sense comes from Old English supan, "to sip or drink"; the greeting is a modern clipping of "what's up".

From Middle English murderere, formed from murder plus the agent suffix -er.

From zoology plus the agent suffix -ist.

From Latin victima, "sacrificial animal," via Middle French victime.

From Old English scrin, from Latin scrinium ("a case for books or papers"), later narrowed to mean a container for sacred relics.

From Middle English mekanyk, from Old French mecanique, from Latin mechanicus, from Greek mēkhanikós ("relating to machines").

Origin uncertain; possibly linked to French camper ("to strike a pose") for the theatrical sense, and to Latin campus ("field") for the outdoor-shelter sense.

Borrowed from French chauffeur, literally "one who heats" — from the days of steam-powered cars, when the driver had to stoke the engine.

From Italian frate ("brother, friar"), the same root that gives English "friar."

The fish name comes via Vietnamese from Khmer, referring to a type of Pangasius catfish.

A shortening of the brand name "Valium."