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 from Afrikaans outa.

A casual contraction of "going to," attested since the early 20th century, reflecting the common dropping of the "g" sound in relaxed speech.

A written approximation of casual spoken speech, recorded in print as early as the 1820s, reflecting how "want to" naturally runs together in fast conversation.

From Old French zodiaque, from Latin zōdiacus, from Greek zōidiakós kúklos, literally "circle of little animals" — a nod to the animal-shaped constellations along that band of sky.

From Old English "corn," from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "grain," ultimately related to a root meaning "worn down" or "ground." A doublet of "grain" and "granum." The specific American sense of "maize" grew out of the older phrase "Indian corn."

From Middle English, originally meaning a duplicate copy of a legal document; from counter- + part.

From Old English cāl, ultimately from Latin caulis ("stalk, cabbage") — the same root that gives us "cauliflower" and "cole" (as in coleslaw).

From Late Latin bōlus, "a lump," from Greek bôlos meaning "clod" or "lump."

From shit plus load, an intensifying slang compound.

From Middle English outhous, built from "out-" plus "house."

From Old French flechier ("arrow-maker"), from fleche ("arrow"). It later became common as an English surname for people in that trade.

From Old French archier, from Vulgar Latin arcarius, from Latin arcus, "bow".

Originally 18th-century English dialect for "cobbler." It later came to mean someone of lower status trying to imitate the upper classes, and eventually flipped to mean someone who looks down on others — a shift popularized by William Thackeray's The Book of Snobs (1848).

Swedish · 1700

Borrowed in the late 1700s from a Swedish dialect word combining rot ("root") and bagge ("lump").

Probably from "turn" (perhaps because the round root looks as if it had been shaped on a lathe) combined with an old English word for the plant, related to "neep" and "parsnip".

From Sanskrit deva ("god, deity").

From village + the agent suffix -er.

Shortened from "binocular glass" — "binocular" itself comes from Latin bini ("two together") and oculus ("eye").

From Old French procurement, from procurer, "to procure."

From Old English weard, meaning "guard" or "watchman," from a Germanic root related to heeding and defending — the same root that eventually gives us "guard" and "warden."

Borrowed directly from Latin toga, related to the verb tegere, "to cover" or "to clothe."

From Old French sevrer, from Latin separare ("to separate"); a doublet of "separate."

From Middle English mechanical, from Old French mecanique, from Latin mechanicus, from Greek mēkhanikós.

From Old French diete, from Latin diaeta, ultimately from Greek díaita, meaning "way of living" or "regimen."