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 lamia, borrowed from Greek Lamia, a mythological child-eating monster.

From Ancient Greek drama, "an act" or "a play," from the verb draō, "to do" or "to act" — it reached English via Late Latin.

From Ancient Greek Delphoi, the name of the sacred site in central Greece.

From Latin "Corinthus," from Greek "Korinthos." The small dried-grape sense is a doublet of "currant."

From Latin egregius ("outstanding, distinguished"), literally "standing out from the flock" (e- "out of" + grex "flock"). The word once meant "remarkably good," but over time it flipped to mean "remarkably bad."

Borrowed from Italian Corfù, from Ancient Greek Κορυφώ (Koruphṓ), from κορυφή (koruphḗ) ("summit", "mountain peak"). Named after the twin peaks of the Old Fortress of Corfu.

Shortened from "cos lettuce," a name traced back to the Greek island of Kos, where the variety was said to originate.

From Ancient Greek Dêlos.

From Greek Santorini, ultimately from Medieval Latin "Santa Irini" ("Saint Irene"), after the patron saint of a local church built under the Latin Empire.

From the Ancient Greek name Mykonos.

From step- (used for family members gained through remarriage) plus sister.

From Latin maior, comparative of magnus ("great, large"). A doublet of "mayor."

From Latin minor, "lesser" or "younger," which also gives us "minister," "minify," and "minimum."

Formed from "mine" plus the agent suffix "-er," meaning someone who mines.

Borrowed into English around the 1650s via Dutch "thee," itself from a southern Chinese (Hokkien) word for the tea plant. Countries that traded tea by sea from that region ended up with "tea"-like words, while those trading overland from northern China got "cha"-like words instead.

From French plan, "flat surface, ground plot," from Latin planus, "flat" — related to "plane" and "plain."

From Middle Dutch spoele, related to Proto-Germanic roots meaning "to split" — likely referring to the split wood spools were originally made from.

A shortened form of "demonstration".

From Old English stiele, related to a Germanic root meaning "to be firm or rigid."

From Old French sorte ("class, kind"), from Latin sors ("lot, fate, share, category").

From Latin typus, itself from Greek túpos meaning "mark" or "impression," related to a verb meaning "to strike."

From Old French lesard, ultimately from Latin lacertus.

An altered form of "templet," probably from French templet, related to "temple" (a weaver's stretching device); the ending changed by analogy with the word "plate."

Borrowed from German kaputt ("broken"), which came from French capot, a term from the card game piquet describing a player who wins no tricks at all.