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 the French romanization of Khmer ខ្មែរ (khmae).

From Old French herbe, from Latin herba ("grass, plant"). The silent "h" in British pronunciation reflects the word's French roots; American English restored the sound of the "h."

From Latin placebo, "I will please," originally a line from a church prayer, later adopted into medicine for a "pleasing" but medically inactive treatment.

From Spanish mano, "hand" — the tool is worked by hand back and forth across the grinding surface.

A learned borrowing from Latin libido, "lust, desire," popularized in English through early 20th-century psychoanalysis, notably by Sigmund Freud.

From Old French espice, going back to Latin speciēs, originally meaning "kind" or "sort" — the same root that gives us "species."

From Old English topp, meaning the highest part or summit of something — the same root that gives us words like "topple".

From Latin exaggerare, "to heap up" or "pile high" — from ex- ("out, up") + aggerare ("to heap"), from agger ("a mound").

From Greek mētropolis ("mother city"), from mētēr ("mother") + polis ("city").

From Latin Marcus, an old Roman praenomen possibly linked to Mars, the god of war. It is a doublet of Mark.

From Latin iustus, "just, lawful, proper," related to ius, "law, right."

As an English or German surname, from words meaning "messenger" or "bottom, ground."

From French flatulence, ultimately from Latin flare ("to blow").

Berg is simply a shortened form of "iceberg"; the word ultimately comes from a Germanic root meaning "mountain."

Of uncertain origin, first recorded in English describing strong winds; possibly related to an Old Norse word for a squall.

From Latin analis, from anus. The personality sense is shortened from the Freudian term "anal-retentive."

From "bottom" plus "-less," first recorded in Middle English.

Traced back through New Latin anacandaia to a South Asian word for a whip-snake or constrictor, later reapplied to the South American species.

Borrowed from Mexican Spanish cafetería ("coffeehouse"), from cafetera ("coffee maker"), tracing back through French to Arabic qahwa, "coffee."

From Italian calamari, the plural of calamaro, going back to Latin calamarius (related to calamus, "reed" or "pen"), likely from the squid's ink and pen-shaped internal shell.

Coined by science-fiction writer William Gibson, blending cybernetics and space, first in his 1982 short story collection Burning Chrome and popularized in his 1984 novel Neuromancer.

Formed from teleport plus the agent ending -er.

Borrowed directly from Latin serra, meaning "saw."

From Latin liberator, "one who sets free," from liberare, "to free."