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 Late Latin gothicus ("of the Goths"), originally used as an insult meaning "barbaric" before being applied to medieval architecture and, centuries later, to a horror-tinged style of fiction and music.

From horn + -y.

From Old English rind, meaning tree bark or a crust.

From French béret, tracing back through Occitan and Late Latin words for a hooded cloak.

From Old English wicce ("female witch") and wicca ("male witch, sorcerer"), from a Germanic verb meaning "to practice sorcery," possibly linked to the word wicked.

From Old English hwǣte, related to an old Germanic word for "white" — likely because the ripe grain looks pale next to green crops.

From Old French festival, "festive," from Latin festivus, ultimately from festum, "feast."

From Old French fontaine, from Latin fons, "spring" or "source."

From Old English oxa, from a Proto-Germanic root related to Proto-Indo-European *uksḗn; cognate with Welsh ych.

From Old French valee, from Latin vallis.

From Old English fær and faru, both meaning "journey" — the same root that gives us "farewell" (literally "travel well").

From Old English fæger, "beautiful."

From Greek autómaton, "acting of its own accord" — the neuter form of autómatos, self-moving.

From the Ancient Greek Zeús, the same ancient root that gives Latin "Jove" — both ultimately from an old word for the bright daytime sky.

From the Titan Atlas in Greek myth, condemned to carry the sky on his shoulders. The mapmaker Mercator used an image of Atlas holding the globe on the cover of his 16th-century map collection, and the name stuck for any book of maps.

From Latin eradere, "to scrape off," from ex- ("out") + radere ("to scrape").

From Old English apa, an ancient Germanic word for monkey or ape, of uncertain deeper origin.

Formed from Latin toxicum ("poison") plus the chemical suffix -in, used for naming specific substances.

Formed from toxic plus the noun-forming suffix -ity, on the pattern of words like "density" or "purity."

From French toxique, from Latin toxicum ("poison"), ultimately from Greek toxikon, "poison for arrows" — from toxon, "bow."

From Old French venimos, from venim ("venom") plus the adjective suffix -os.

Borrowed directly from French brioche, the name of this enriched bread.

From poison + the adjective suffix -ous.

From Latin lyra, from Ancient Greek lura — a doublet of "lyric" and the constellation "Lyra".