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 English clif, meaning "steep rock face."

From Old French deluge, from Latin diluvium ("a washing away"), related to the verb diluere ("to wash away, dilute").

From leaf plus the adjective-forming suffix -y.

First recorded in English in 1696, formed as a back-formation from "botanic."

From Old English ath, from Proto-Germanic aithaz, meaning "oath".

From Old English under, from Proto-Germanic *under, related to German unter and Latin infra ("below") — an ancient word for "beneath" going back to Proto-Indo-European.

From Old English ofer, tracing back to a very old Indo-European root meaning "above" — related to Latin super and Greek hyper.

From Middle English wrenne, wranne, from Old English wrenna, wrænna, werna, wærna, wrenne (“wren”), from Proto-West Germanic *wrandijō, from Proto-Germanic *wrandijô (“wren”). Cognate with Old Saxon wrendilo (“wren”), Old High German rento, rentilo (“wren”), Danish rindel (“wren”), Icelandic rindill (“wren”).

From Anglo-Norman executour, from Latin exsecutor, "one who carries out."

From execution + -er, "one who performs an execution."

From Latin exsecutio, from exsequi, "to follow out."

From Old English hāligdæg, literally "holy day," originally referring to a religious feast day before broadening to any day of rest or celebration.

From Ancient Greek thrombosis, "clotting," from thrombos, "clot" or "lump."

From Old English blodig, formed from "blood" plus the adjective suffix "-y."

From Old English mihtiġ, from "miht" ("might") + "-y".

From propel + -er, "one that propels."

From Latin possibilis, from posse ("to be able").

From "possible" plus the adverb suffix "-ly."

From print plus the agent suffix -er.

A straightforward combination of "type" and "writer" — a machine that writes in type.

From Old French penon, ultimately from Latin penna ("feather"), related to "pinion."

From French pendant, literally "hanging," from pendre ("to hang").

From Japanese sai, the name of the weapon.

From Middle English bobben, "to strike or shake," of uncertain deeper origin.