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.

Browse etymology by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Recently added

From Old French arrivaille, built from the verb arriver, "to arrive."

From Old French ariver, ultimately from Latin ad ripam, "to the shore" — the original sense was literally "to reach land."

From Old French vagabond, from Late Latin vagabundus, from Latin vagari ("to wander"). Related to "vague," which comes from the same wandering root.

Origin unknown; possibly a contraction of "ho, boy" or linked to an old dialect word for a country bumpkin.

From "pack" plus the noun-forming suffix "-age."

Borrowed via English sailors from a Polynesian word (Samoan tatau), which itself meant both "to strike" and "tattoo," reflecting how the ink was traditionally tapped into the skin.

The past participle of smite, from Old English smiten.

From Latin constellatio, "a grouping of stars," from con- ("together") + stella ("star").

From "fluff" plus the "-y" suffix.

Medieval Latin · 1800

From Medieval Latin alcohol, from Arabic al-kuhl, originally referring to a fine powder (kohl eyeliner). The meaning shifted over centuries — first to "any fine powder," then to distilled spirits, and finally, by the 1800s, to the specific chemical ethanol.

Middle English · 1300

Recorded since the 1300s as Middle English "bom"; its ultimate origin is uncertain, though some link it to imitative (sound-based) coinage.

From Old English botm, going back to a very old Indo-European root meaning "bottom" or "foundation," shared with similar words across many European languages.

From toast plus the agent suffix -er, meaning "the thing (or person) that toasts."

From Middle English tost — the "salute with a drink" sense grew from an old custom of flavoring a drink with a piece of spiced toast, later applied instead to the person being honored.

From Old English hǣlþ, built from the same root as whole and heal, plus the abstract-noun suffix -th.

From Old French chiere, meaning "face" or "expression", which came to mean a person's mood and later shifted to mean encouragement and good spirits.

Borrowed from Italian ciao, originally from a Venetian phrase meaning "your servant" — related to the word "slave".

From French appréciation, formed from appreciate + -ion.

From Medieval Latin appreciatus, "valued or appraised," from ad- + pretium, "price" — the same root as precious and appraise.

Borrowed from Spanish or Portuguese ani, ultimately from an Indigenous Tupi word.

From Old French pan, ultimately from Latin pannus ("cloth") — a distant relative of "pane" in the fabric sense once meant a piece of material before it settled on glass.

From Old French orbe, from Latin orbis, "circle, ring."

From Old English hlāford, a compound of hlāf ("bread, loaf") and weard ("guardian") — literally "the guardian of the bread," referring to the head of a household who ensured everyone was fed.

From Latin resistere, "to stand back, oppose" — from re- plus sistere, "to cause to stand".