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 Old French dangereus ("threatening, difficult"), from dangier — the same root as "danger."

From Old English hnappian, "to doze", going back to a Germanic root shared with other words for nodding off to sleep.

From Old English sæd, originally meaning "full" or "sated" — the modern sense of unhappiness developed later, via a stage meaning "serious" or "grave."

From Old English hætt, going back to a very old Germanic word for headgear, related to words in Norse, Frisian, and Scandinavian languages.

From Old English ber, "stretcher" or "bier," from a Germanic root meaning "to carry"— the same root that gave English the verb "bear."

Borrowed from German Engels.

From Middle English besechen, built on an old word meaning "to seek" — literally asking someone by seeking a favour from them.

From Old English hwinan, "to make a whistling or whizzing sound" — the meaning narrowed over time to focus on complaining.

Named after the Marquis de Sade, an 18th-century French writer notorious for depicting cruelty and violence in his work; the term was coined in French in the 19th century and later popularized by psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing.

Formed from "bugger" plus the noun suffix "-y."

From Latin penetratio, from penetrare ("to pierce, enter deeply").

From Adonis, a beautiful young man in Greek mythology loved by the goddess Aphrodite.

From Latin versatilis, "turning easily", from versare, "to turn or change" — the same root family as "vertigo" and "convert".

From Latin passivus, "capable of suffering or being acted upon," from pati, "to suffer."

From Middle English grim, meaning soot or dirt on the face, tracing back to an Old English word for "mask" — dirt-covered skin was once poetically compared to wearing a mask.

The university sense is simply a shortening of "university". The sushi sense comes from Japanese uni, referring to sea urchin roe.

From Middle English delicacie, from Middle English delicat, from Latin delicatus. Equivalent to delic(ate) + -acy.

From Old French estorjoun, from a Frankish word for the fish — ultimately Germanic in origin.

From Old English hrogn, "spawn or fish eggs", tracing back to a Proto-Indo-European root for frog spawn — it has nothing to do with the name Roe.

Borrowed via French and Italian from Ottoman Turkish, ultimately from a Persian word — a doublet of "ajvar."

A back-formation from "confused", ultimately from Latin confundere ("to pour together, mix up").

Originally from Middle English confused (“frustrated, ruined”), from Anglo-Norman confus + Middle English -ed (past participial suffix), from Latin cōnfūsus, past participle of cōnfundō; now equivalent to confuse (a back-formation) + -ed.

From Old English on riht, "in the right way" — built from a- + right.

From Latin praecipitium, \"a steep place,\" built from praeceps, \"headfirst\" — literally prae- (\"before\") plus caput (\"head\").