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 Greek epokhē, "a fixed point in time," from epékhein ("to hold back, pause") — originally used for the starting point from which a span of time is measured.

From Latin ubique ("everywhere"), plus the suffix -ous. Related to the rarer word "ubiety".

From Anglo-Norman reguard, related to reguarder, "to look at, watch." It shares roots with guard and ward.

From Latin super, meaning "above" — the same root behind words like superior and superb.

From Old English cwicseolfor, literally "living silver," describing how mercury seems to move on its own.

From Old English cwecesand, literally "living sand" — the same old sense of "quick" meaning "alive" combined with "sand."

Built from the old sense of "quick" meaning "alive" (as in "the quick and the dead") plus the verb-forming suffix "-en," so it originally meant "to bring to life."

From ad- ("near") + renal ("relating to the kidneys"), since the adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys.

First recorded in the 1890s as US military slang applied to Filipinos, later extended during conflicts in Nicaragua, Haiti, Korea, and Vietnam to refer to local populations.

From Old English ċine ("crack"), with the diminutive suffix -k added later.

Origins are disputed. One theory traces it to Yiddish קײַקל (kaykl, "circle"): early 20th-century Jewish immigrants to the US who could not write in Latin script reportedly signed documents with a circle rather than an X, to avoid anything resembling a cross. Other theories point to a contraction of the phrase "Ikey-Kikey" or to Scots keek ("to peek"), tied to clothing-industry espionage. No theory is universally accepted.

From Latin officium, "duty, service, official position" — originally built from the words for "work" and "to do/make".

Of uncertain origin, but first recorded as slang for a lucky, unplanned shot in billiards.

From Anglo-Norman "waiter" (to watch or guard), from a Frankish word for "watch" — related to the modern word "watch" itself.

From Middle English "waitynge", formed from "wait" plus the "-ing" ending.

From Greek pelekan, related to pelekus ("hatchet"), possibly describing the shape of its bill.

From Old French asuagier ("to calm, appease"), from Vulgar Latin *assuaviare, from Latin ad- plus suavis ("sweet, pleasant").

From Old French entailler, "to cut into," from en- + tailler ("to cut"). The legal sense comes from the idea of an inheritance being "cut" or fixed to a set line of heirs.

From Old French rostir, "to roast or torture with fire," ultimately from a Germanic root — the comedic "roast" sense grew out of the idea of someone being figuratively "grilled."

From Middle English muche/muchel, going back through Old English to a Proto-Germanic word meaning "great" or "many." Despite the resemblance, it is not related to the Spanish word mucho, which comes from Latin instead.

The verb is from Latin conversari, "to live among, keep company with." The adjective/noun sense comes from Latin conversus, "turned around."

From French braverie, from braver ("to brave"), related to brave.

From Italian bravo, of uncertain deeper origin — a doublet of the English word "bravo."

From Latin adoratio ("worship"), from adorare ("to worship, adore").