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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A clipped form of "technology," "technician," or "technique."

From "radical" plus the adverb-forming suffix "-ly".

From Latin radicalis, "of or having roots", from radix, "root" — the political and thorough-change senses developed from the idea of getting to the root of a problem.

From Old English brōm ("brushwood"); the shrub was originally what broom-brushes were made from, and the cleaning tool eventually took the plant's name.

A clipping of "pornographic" or "pornography", used since the mid-20th century.

From "pornography" plus the agent suffix "-er".

From "pornography" plus the adjective suffix "-ic".

Borrowed from French pornographie, itself built from Greek roots meaning "writing about prostitutes".

A compound of finger and print, referring literally to the mark, or "print," a finger leaves behind.

A clipped form of "pornography", first recorded in the mid-20th century.

From Middle English prenten, an altered form of emprinten ("to imprint"), ultimately traced back to Latin premere ("to press").

From Old French heroes, ultimately from Latin hērōs, borrowed from Greek hḗrōs ("demi-god, hero").

Short for "electronic mail"; the word entered common use in the 1970s alongside the technology itself.

A blend of chemo- (from "chemical") and therapy, itself from Ancient Greek therapeia ("treatment").

From Middle English vntil, until, untill, ontil, ontill, perhaps representing a northern variant of Middle English unto (see Modern English unto). By surface analysis, un- (“against; toward; up to”) + till.

From Old English til, related to Old Norse til, both from a Germanic root meaning "toward" or "up to a point." It is not a shortened form of "until" — in fact "until" was built from "till."

Borrowed from Portuguese Macau, from Hokkien. See Portuguese Macau for more info.

From Old French impacient, from Latin impatiens.

From Old French determiner, from Latin determinare ("to fix bounds"), from de- + terminare ("to limit"), from terminus ("boundary, end").

From Old English ac, going back through Proto-Germanic to a very old Indo-European root for the oak tree.

Possibly from Cajun French gaufre ("honeycomb, waffle"), the idea being that a gopher's network of burrows looks like the holes in a honeycomb or waffle.

Likely from proprietary + -or, following the pattern of turning an adjective/noun of ownership into "the person who owns."

From Ancient Greek harmonia ("joint, agreement, concord of sounds"), related to harmozo, "to fit together." Entered English through Old French and Latin.

From Italian arcipelago, originally referring to the Aegean Sea, from arci- ("chief") plus pelago ("sea").