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 New Latin autopsia, from Greek autopsía, "seeing with one's own eyes" — from autós ("self") and the root behind "-opsy" ("seeing").

From Old English murnan, "to grieve," related to a Germanic root shared with the French word morne, "gloomy."

From French boucanier, someone who smoked meat on a boucan (grill), from the Tupi word mboka'e — the name shifted from meat-smokers to the pirates who adopted their lifestyle in the Caribbean.

From Old French pirate, from Latin pirata, from Greek peiratēs, related to peira ("attempt, trial"). It replaced the native Old English word wicing, which originally covered both "pirate" and "viking".

From Old English pōl, "pool," related to Germanic and Slavic words for a puddle or marsh.

From French billard, from Old French bille ("log, tree trunk"), naming the cue used to strike the balls.

Coined in 1898, short for "Pepsi-Cola," chosen to suggest the drink could relieve dyspepsia (indigestion).

From Old English "byrgan," itself from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to keep safe" — ultimately connected to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to protect."

From Greek kleitorís, likely related to a verb meaning "to shut" or "sheathe" — a reference to how it is partly covered by the labia minora.

From Old English turf, meaning "sod" or "grass-covered earth," a very old Germanic word.

From "skate" plus the agent suffix "-er."

A modern coinage combining "space" with "port," modeled on "airport" and "seaport."

A compound of "speed" and "way."

A compound of "race" and "track."

A straightforward compound of horse and shoe, going back to Middle English horsscho.

Coined from horse plus power — engineer James Watt originally defined it by comparing steam engines to the pulling power of a real horse.

From Old French sans, "without", ultimately from Latin sine.

From Old English lār, related to the verb "learn" — originally meaning teaching or instruction, before broadening to mean traditional or accumulated knowledge.

From Dutch Zeeland.

From Latin compressus, past participle of comprimere, "to press together," from com- + premere ("to press").

From Old French composer, adapted from Latin componere, "to put together," from com- ("together") + ponere ("to place").

Borrowed from Middle French décomposer, built from de- plus compose.

American English, perhaps from first element of German Pochspiel, from German pochen, perhaps from French poque. First appeared in the 19th century.

Borrowed from Latin bes.