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 feauté, ultimately from Latin fidelitas ("faithfulness") — a doublet of "fidelity".

Named after Vladimir Lenin following his death in 1924; renamed back to Saint Petersburg in 1991.

A clipping of any word beginning with pyro-, which traces back to Ancient Greek pyr, meaning "fire."

From Old English betst/bezt, the superlative form of "good," ultimately from a Proto-Germanic root shared with "better."

From Old English "bed," meaning "prayer," since strings of beads were originally used to count prayers — the object eventually took the name of the act it helped track.

From Old English sċīete, "a piece of cloth," and a related Old English word for the corner of a sail — both ultimately from a Germanic root meaning "to throw" or "project."

Named after HMS Dreadnought, the first battleship of its type, whose name literally means "fears nothing."

From "fend" plus the agent suffix "-er" — literally, something that fends things off.

From Old French guarder, ultimately from a Germanic root meaning "to watch over" — a doublet of "garda" (as in "Garda," Ireland's police force).

From Old French estat, from Latin status, "condition, standing." A doublet of "state" and "status."

Italian · 1630

The "carried chair" sense appeared in the 1630s, possibly linked to a southern Italian word for "seat." The car sense arose much later, in early-1900s North America.

From Old French beste (Modern French bête), from Latin bēstia, meaning "animal."

The name comes from a 1530 poem by Girolamo Fracastoro about a shepherd named Syphilus who was struck with the disease as punishment for offending the god Apollo.

From Ancient Greek εἰρωνικός (eirōnikós), via Latin īrōnicus.

From Greek exotikos, "foreign," literally "from outside," from exo- ("outside").

From Middle French alternatif, from Medieval Latin alternativus ("alternating"), built on the same root as "alternate."

From French indépendant, from in- ("not") + dependent.

The name likely comes from the Cherokee people's own name for themselves, Tsalagi, though several rival origin stories exist from neighbouring Native languages.

Named after Sir Robert Peel, who founded London's modern police force — "bobby" is a nickname derived from "Robert."

From Middle English turmeryte, of uncertain origin — possibly from Arabic kurkum or a folk-adapted form of Old French terre mérite ("deserving earth").

A shortened form of "automobile," ultimately from Greek autós ("self").

From Medieval Latin entitas, built from Latin ens ("a being") plus the suffix "-tas."

From Latin distinctus + -ive.

From Old Norse samr and Old English same, both descending from a very old Germanic root meaning "same" — related to the "-some" ending seen in words like "handsome."