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 French née, the feminine past participle of naître ("to be born").

From Middle English wrench, from Old English wrenċ, from Proto-Germanic *wrankiz, from Proto-Indo-European *wreng- (“to turn”). Compare German Rank (“plot, intrigue”).

From "span" plus the agent suffix "-er" — literally, a thing that spans or grips something.

From Old Norse búlki, "the cargo of a ship," related to a Germanic root meaning "heap" or "pile."

From Old French griffon, from Late Latin grȳphus, from Greek grúps — the same root as "gryphon," an alternate spelling.

From Greek martikhóras, itself borrowed from an Old Persian word meaning "man-eater."

A back-formation from "wacky", shortened to describe something disappointingly bad or corny.

Recorded in English since the 16th century, borrowed via French from an Algonquian-language source, long thought to mean "eater of raw meat" though most linguists now trace it to a word meaning "snowshoe-netter."

From French identification.

From Latin rapidus, "hurried, seizing," from rapere, "to snatch or seize" — the same root that gives us rapture and rapacious.

From Old English smiþ, "smith," from a Proto-Germanic root possibly meaning "to smear or spread" — the same root also gave English words related to smearing metal into shape.

From Middle English yrchoun, "hedgehog," ultimately from Latin ēricius — the sea creature and the scruffy child were both named for their resemblance to a hedgehog's spines.

Borrowed from Malay lah and reinforced by similar particles in Hokkien and Cantonese, all used to add emphasis or soften a statement.

An anglicised spelling of "do" as used in solfège.

Shortened from rhinoceros.

From Old French robber, ultimately from a Germanic root meaning "to plunder" — the same root gives us "robe," originally spoils taken in war.

From Late Latin derogatorius, related to derogare, "to lessen or detract from" — the source of derogate.

From Old English cēne ("bold, sharp, wise"), a Germanic word related to German kühn ("bold") and, further back, to the root of "cunning" and "can".

From Medieval Latin burglator, related to Late Latin burgus ("fortified town") — an extra "l" crept in, likely influenced by Latin latro ("thief").

From Old English fana, "cloth, banner, flag," the same root that gave German Fahne. The weather-vane sense comes from early flag-like devices used to show wind direction before the familiar spinning arrow design took over.

From Old French vain, from Latin vanus, meaning "empty."

From Old French "mariage," ultimately from Latin "maritare," "to give in marriage."

From Old English rand, "edge or border" — the South African currency sense comes from the Witwatersrand goldfields, whose name literally means "white water's edge."

From French bonjour, literally "good day."