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 frocga, going back to a Proto-West Germanic word for the animal.

A shortening of "topographic map."

From Old English wæps, from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "wasp," ultimately traced to a very old word for "weave" — a nod to the insect's woven-looking nests.

From Latin vipera, itself a contraction of vivipara ("bringing forth live young"), since vipers give birth to live offspring rather than laying eggs.

From Middle French culture ("cultivation"), from Latin cultura, from colere ("to till, tend, cultivate, or worship").

From Latin conversatio, "the act of living with others, familiar intercourse" — related to converse.

Borrowed from French sabre, tracing back through German Säbel to Hungarian szablya.

Originally a trademarked brand name that became a generic term for this type of laminate.

From Latin canonicus, ultimately from Greek kanon, "rule" or "standard."

From Old English bete, ultimately from Latin beta.

From Old English speca/spreca, "speaker," built from speak plus the agent suffix -er.

From Old French musel/museau, ultimately from Late Latin mūsus ("snout") — the same root that gives French museau today.

From Old French canon, from Italian cannone, from Latin canna ("reed"), ultimately from Ancient Greek and Akkadian words for reed. A doublet of "canyon."

From Anglo-Norman "wafre", from an older Germanic word related to a honeycomb pattern — the same root that gives us "waffle".

From Yiddish mentsh ("an honourable person"), ultimately from Old High German mennisko ("human being").

From Latin centaurus, from Ancient Greek kentauros, referring to a legendary tribe from Thessaly.

From Old Norse "skíð," originally referring to a plank or beam something rests or slides on — the same root as "ski."

Shortened from "garfish", itself from Middle English gare (a spear, referring to the fish's pointed snout) plus "fish".

From Old French dragon, from Latin draco, from Ancient Greek drakon, "a huge serpent."

From Spanish caimán or Portuguese caimão, itself from a Cariban word, acayouman.

From Latin unicornis, literally "one-horned" (unus, "one" + cornu, "horn"). The billion-dollar-startup meaning was coined by venture capitalist Aileen Lee in 2013 to describe how rare such companies were.

From Old English hlid, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to cover."

From French automobile, joining Greek autós ("self") with French mobile ("moving"), itself from Latin mobilis.

From Old English wynn, meaning "joy" — runes were traditionally named after words that began with the sound they represented.