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 Latin dīvulgō, from dī- ("widely") plus vulgō ("to make known, publish").

From Latin frigidus ("cold"), related to frigus ("cold, coldness") — the same root that gives us "refrigerator".

From Old French geant, ultimately from Latin gigas and Ancient Greek gigas ("giant"), the same root that gives us "giga-" for a billion.

A near-universal baby sound across languages, tied to the same ancient root behind "mama" and "mother".

From Old French paste, from Late Latin pasta, "dough" — the same root as pasta.

From French lagune, from Italian laguna, from Latin lacuna ("pool, gap") — the same root that gives English "lacuna".

Coined in 1834 by the English philosopher William Whewell, modeled on "artist," to replace the older terms "natural philosopher" and "man of science."

From New Latin trāiectōria, coined from Latin trāiectus ("thrown across"), from trans- ("across") + iaciō ("to throw").

From Hebrew adam, related to adamah ("red earth, ground"), by way of Greek and Latin forms of the name.

Borrowed from Middle French adage, from Latin adagium.

New Latin · 1684

A learned borrowing from New Latin acupunctura, joining acus ("needle") and punctura ("puncture"). First recorded in English in 1684.

Germanic · 1500

Probably imitative in origin; possibly related to Germanic words meaning "to spit or hiss." First recorded in English in the late 16th century, including in Shakespeare's "As You Like It."

An onomatopoeia — a word that imitates the sound it describes, like "bang" or "boom".

From Latin astutus ("crafty"), from astus ("craft, skill").

From Old English bosm, going back to a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to swell or curve" — related to words for "breast" and "cheek" in several other old languages.

From Middle English oylei, equivalent to oil + -y. Compare German ölig (“oily”), Swedish oljig (“oily”).

From Latin belligerans, "waging war," built from bellum ("war") plus a root meaning "to carry on" — the same root family as "belt" has nothing to do with, but "bellicose" definitely does.

From Old French archerie, from archier, "archer".

From Anglo-Norman muet, ultimately reshaped to match Latin mutus, meaning "silent" or "dumb."

Borrowed from Spanish vainilla, literally "little pod" — a diminutive of vaina ("pod" or "sheath"), referring to the shape of the vanilla bean. The figurative sense of "plain" or "basic" grew out of vanilla being the default, unadorned ice cream flavor.

From Old French libelle, from Latin libellus, "little book" — originally just any short written document, long before it narrowed to mean a damaging false statement.

Shortened from the French phrase film noir ("black film"), also related to the English word "negro."

From Italian maestro ("master"), from Latin magister.

Borrowed from French blanc, meaning "white."