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 Latin pecūliāris ("one's own property"), from pecūlium ("private property"), ultimately from pecus ("cattle") — livestock once being a measure of personal wealth.

From Old French enque, ultimately from Greek enkauston, "burned in" — the purple ink Roman emperors used to sign documents.

Probably from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German "slippe," a word linked to the idea of splitting or cutting away — the sense of a small detached piece.

From Old English prættig, "cunning, sly, tricky" — the sense shifted over time from "clever" to "attractive," similar to how "cute" developed.

From Old English bisig ("occupied, diligent"). The unusual spelling with "u" comes from Midland and Southern English dialects, even though the modern pronunciation follows the Eastern dialects' vowel sound.

Borrowed from Hindi khat, ultimately from Sanskrit khatva, meaning "bedstead."

From Middle English pepen, likely echoing the sound itself — similar words exist in Dutch and German for the chirp of small birds.

From Middle English magot, probably an altered form of an Old English word related to insect larvae; the old folk belief that whimsical or eccentric people had "maggots in the brain" gave rise to a now-obsolete figurative sense.

A coined gender-neutral pronoun modelled on the existing English pronouns "he" and "she".

From Middle English tod, of unknown origin, possibly connected to a separate old word for a bushy clump such as ivy, referencing the fox's bushy tail.

From the verb amaze plus -ing.

From Old English amasian, "to confuse or astonish" — related to the older sense of "maze" meaning to bewilder.

Formed by adding an extra "-t" ending to "amongs" (itself "among" plus a genitive "-s"), a common pattern in older English words like "against".

From Middle English schrimpe ("shrimp, puny person"), of Germanic origin related to words for "shrivel" or "shrink."

Middle English · 1400

First recorded in the 1400s in Middle English forms like "prayne" and "prane"; its deeper origin is unclear and disputed among etymologists.

From Old English brine, meaning salt water — the root is ancient and shared with several other Germanic languages, all pointing back to the same "salty liquid" idea.

From Old French aversaire, from Latin adversārius, built on adversus, "turned against."

From French prestige, originally meaning "illusion" or "trick," from Latin praestigium, "a delusion" — the sense shifted over time from "dazzling trick" to "impressive reputation."

From Old French "mote," meaning "mound" or "embankment" — the meaning later shifted from the raised earthwork itself to the ditch dug around it. The business sense was popularized by the investor Warren Buffett.

From Latin ērudītus, "trained, learned," originally meaning "freed from rudeness" — from e- ("out of") plus rudis ("rough, unskilled").

From Old French manjue ("itch"), related to mangier, "to eat" — the itching was thought of as the mites eating away at the skin.

From Old French, ultimately from Latin pestilentia ("plague"), from pestilens ("infected, unwholesome").

Late Middle English, originally meaning "fool" or "simpleton"; likely related to Low German and Scandinavian words for sulking or pouting.

From Latin pumex, "pumice stone."