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 Latin altercatio, a term for a heated verbal dispute.

From French gnome, coined in New Latin by the Renaissance physician Paracelsus as another word for a pygmy-like earth spirit.

The military abbreviation comes from "killed in action"; the car brand name derives from Korean roots meaning roughly "to arise out of Asia."

From Old French alteracion, from Medieval Latin alteratio — built from alter, "other," plus the ending -ation.

From Old English ǣwell ("river source") + tūn ("settlement, town").

From Middle English alredy, formed from al- ("completely") + ready.

From Latin Alpinus, from Alpes, "the Alps".

From Middle English a loude, formed from a- + loud.

Originally a nautical term meaning to keep a ship's bow pointed into the wind, away from the shore — the literal sense of "keeping clear" became the figurative sense of emotional distance.

Formed from along + side.

From Old English andlang, from and- ("opposite") + lang ("long").

From Middle English al one, literally "all one" — contracted from Old English eall ān.

From Old English ċipp, meaning a small piece of wood or shaving, related to a Germanic root for cutting or chopping.

Borrowed directly from Spanish lobo, "wolf", from Latin lupus.

From "bee" plus "keeper."

From Old English ælmihtiġ, built from al- ("all") + might + -y.

From Old French aleurer, built from a- ("toward") plus leurre ("lure") — the same root that gives English "lure".

By surface analysis, allure + -ing.

From Old French alouance, built on the same double root as "allow."

From Anglo-Norman alouer, which blended two separate Latin roots — one meaning "to praise/approve" and one meaning "to place/assign" — giving English both the "permit" and "set aside" senses.

From Old French aloter, built on lot, the same root behind the English word "lot" meaning a share or portion decided by chance.

From Old French alotement, built on the verb "allot."

From Old French alier, from Latin alligare, "to bind to" — literally someone bound to you by a shared cause.

From Old French aliance, built on the verb alier, "to bind together" — the same root as the word "ally."