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 kepere. By surface analysis, keep + -er.

From Old French "transcender," from Latin "transcendere" — "to climb over or surpass," from "trans-" ("across") plus "scandere" ("to climb").

A compound of stair and case, in the sense of an enclosing structure.

From Latin refutare, "to drive back, repudiate."

From the abbreviation "GP," meaning "general purpose," used for the original military vehicle.

From Old English brand, meaning "fire" or "burning torch" — the sense of a company's identity is a modern extension of the older idea of marking ownership with fire.

From dialectal English nap, "to seize or grab," likely from an old Scandinavian word meaning to pluck or pinch.

Originally a Scots/Scottish English variant of "job" meaning to peck or poke, from Middle English "jobben".

A shortened, informal form of "alligator."

Origin uncertain, likely of North Germanic origin, possibly related to a Norwegian word meaning "to show off."

Origin uncertain — possibly linked to an old English dialect word for "order, tidiness," or to a French word for a trivial idea.

A phonetic spelling of the initials "MC," short for "master of ceremonies."

From Old English (ge)mōt, meaning a formal meeting or assembly — the same root as "meet."

From Hebrew אבנר (Abner), from אָב (av, "father") + נור (nur, "light").

Borrowed from Arabic عَبَاءَة (ʕabāʔa); related to the word "abaya".

From Middle English accidently, accidentli (“by chance; temporarily; artificially”), equivalent to accident + -ly.

From Spanish abra, meaning a gap or cove — a linguistic cousin of the English word "haven."

From Latin Abilēnus, from Ancient Greek Ἀβιληνός (Abilēnós). By surface analysis, Abila + -ene.

From Arabic عَبْدُ ٱللّٰه (ʕabdu llāh), from عَبْد (ʕabd, "servant") + الله (allāh, "God"), literally "servant of God".

From Arabic عَبْد (ʕabd, “servant [of]”) + ال (al-, “the”).

Borrowed from Hindi आरती (ārtī), from Sanskrit आरात्रिक (ārātrika).

From Old French defaute ("fault, lack"), ultimately from Latin de- ("away") plus fallere ("to deceive, fail").

Formed from room plus -y, the common adjective-forming suffix meaning "having a lot of."

Borrowed from French coupe, related to the word "cup" — the glass sense and the car sense both trace back to this same French root, though they ended up meaning very different things.