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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The given name comes from Greek Helen; the older noun sense is from Old English ellen, "zeal, strength, courage," a word that has fallen out of everyday use.

From French vampire, via German and Hungarian from a Slavic word, ultimately of uncertain origin.

Traced to Anglo-Norman espaundre, ultimately from Latin expandere, "to spread out" — the same root behind "expand."

From Middle French amulette, ultimately from Latin amuletum, a word for a protective charm.

From Arabic al-iksir, "the philosopher's stone," itself borrowed from an ancient Greek word for a wound-drying powder.

From Arabic mūmiyāʔ via Persian mumyā ("wax"), passing through Medieval Latin and French into English.

From Old English dell ("small dale"), from Proto-Germanic *daljō — related to the English word dale.

From Middle English cesen, borrowed via Old French cesser from Latin cessare ("to leave off, delay"), a frequent form of cedere ("to go away, withdraw"). Related to "cessation" and "recede."

A straightforward compound of camp + fire.

Straight from Latin ego, "I" — Freud's English translators picked it to render his German term das Ich ("the I").

From Middle French calme, probably ultimately from Greek kauma ("the heat of the midday sun"), a time when work — and the wind — traditionally stopped.

The "bad habit" sense comes from Latin vitium, "fault," while the "instead of" sense comes from Latin vice, the ablative form of vicis, "turn, change."

Likely formed by analogy with other letter names like "bee" and "dee"; standardized in the US after Noah Webster's dictionary in 1828.

From the Greek mythological figure Io, a mortal woman loved by Zeus and transformed into a heifer.

From Italian gelato, "frozen," ultimately from Latin gelū, "frost."

Borrowed from Italian bello, meaning "handsome" or "fella" — related to English "beau."

From Italian bravo, a doublet of brave.

From Old English ben, "prayer or petition," related to the modern word "boon."

From Old English sona, "immediately, at once," which originally meant right away rather than the milder "before long" sense it has now.

From Ottoman Turkish pare/para, from Persian pâre.

From Old English ǣlċ, a contraction of ǣġhwelċ, related in sense to "always" plus "which".

Borrowed from French unique, from Latin unicus ("only, sole").

From Middle English techere, simply "teach" plus the agent suffix "-er."

From Old English "bolla" or "bolle," meaning a cup or round vessel, going back to a Germanic root meaning "ball" or "round object."