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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Borrowed from American Spanish tuna, an alteration of Spanish atún, ultimately from Arabic at-tunn, from Latin thunnus and Greek thynnos.

From Middle English notemuge, a partial translation of Medieval Latin nux muscata, "musky nut".

Borrowed in the 16th century from Latin axis, meaning "axle" or "axis" — the same root that gives us "axle".

From "un-" + "married."

Formed from priest plus the feminine suffix -ess.

From Arabic اللّٰه (allāh), a contraction of اَل (al-, "the") + إِلَه (ʔilah, "deity").

Borrowed from French collage, literally "gluing", from coller, "to glue".

From warble + -er.

From Latin arcus, "a bow or arch", the same root that gives us "arch" and "arrow".

From Greek okto- ("eight") plus -gonon ("angled"), the same building blocks found in "pentagon" and "hexagon".

From Old English brydguma, literally "bride's man". The original second element, guma ("man"), died out of the language and was later reshaped by folk etymology into "groom".

The past participle of the verb "marry."

From Hebrew Mōšê via Greek and Latin; the origin is debated, with some scholars linking it to an Egyptian word meaning "to give birth to."

From Latin manuālis, from manus ("hand") — anything "manual" is literally hand-related.

From Old English loc, "a fastening or enclosure", from a root meaning "to bend or turn".

From Middle French athéisme, from Greek atheos ("godless"), from a- ("without") + theos ("god").

From Old English "mearg," related to German "Mark" and ultimately to a very old Indo-European word also behind the Russian and Polish words for "brain."

From Greek haimorrhagia, combining haima ("blood") and rhegnynai ("to burst") — literally a violent bursting of blood.

From Greek paralysis, from paralyo ("to disable on one side") — a doublet of "palsy."

From French cérébral, from Latin cerebrum ("brain").

From Late Latin monasticus, tied to the same Greek root as "monastery."

From Latin caelibatus, "the single state," from caelebs, "unmarried."

From "seclude," ultimately from Latin "secludere" ("to shut away").

From Ancient Greek monastḗrion, "hermitage," ultimately from mónos, "alone" — the same root that gives us "monk."