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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Clipping of shampoo.

From "blue" + "berry," describing the fruit's colour once ripe.

Launched in 1941 as "Cheerioats" — a blend of "cheery" and "oats" — then shortened to Cheerios in 1945 after Quaker Oats objected to a competitor using "oats" in its name.

From Old English huniġcamb, literally "honey" + "comb", describing the wax structure bees build to store honey.

Named after its inventor, the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax, combined with the Greek-derived ending "-phone" meaning "sound."

From Latin contributus, past participle of contribuere ("to bring together, unite"), from con- ("together") plus tribuere ("to bestow, allot").

Borrowed from Latin horridus ("bristly, rough, shaggy"), from horrere ("to bristle, tremble").

Traced back to Middle English "nasty," meaning filthy or unclean, though its deeper origin is uncertain — possibly linked to old North Germanic words for "dirty" or "soft."

From Middle English wikke ("morally bad"), of uncertain origin, possibly linked to an old word for a sorcerer.

From sub- ("beneath") plus text.

From Latin praetextum, "an ornament woven in front" — figuratively, a cover story, from praetexere ("to weave in front, to disguise").

From the historical religious movement of the Puritans, who sought to "purify" the Church of England of Catholic practices.

From Old English cristendōm, built from Christen plus the suffix -dom ("state, domain").

Old English · 1400

From Old English gast, meaning breath, spirit, or soul — the same root behind "Holy Ghost." The silent "h" crept into the spelling in the late 1400s, likely from printers influenced by Dutch. The "stop replying without explanation" sense only became common in the 2010s.

Borrowed directly from German Poltergeist, from poltern ("to make a racket") and Geist ("ghost").

Borrowed directly from German Doppelgänger, literally "double-walker."

Borrowed from Spanish cañón — the same word gives us "cannon" (both trace back to a Latin word for a tube or pipe).

From ever + green — a plant that stays green through every season.

From the Latin prefix ex-, meaning "out of" or "former."

From Old English ēst, "goodwill" or "favour," tracing back to a Germanic root shared with words like the Icelandic ást ("love") and German Gunst ("favour"). It survives only in historical and dialect use today.

From Old English hreaw, going back to a Proto-Indo-European root connected to raw meat and blood — the same root that gives Latin crudus, source of English "crude."

From Latin includere, "to shut in, enclose," from in- + claudere, "to shut" — the same root as "close" and "enclose."

From Old English manigfeald, a compound of many and -fold, meaning "many times over."

From Middle French explorer, from Latin explorare, "to investigate, search out" — originally a hunting term meaning "to cry out," from ex- ("out") + plorare ("to cry").