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 Italian Lucca.

Borrowed from Italian Lodi.

From Spanish latina, the feminine form corresponding to Latino.

From Old French element, from Latin elementum, meaning a first principle or basic building block.

Etymology tree Italian Ferrarabor. English Ferrara Borrowed from Italian Ferrara.

Formed from "Jamaica" plus the suffix "-an," used to form nationality adjectives and nouns.

From Lebanon plus the suffix -ese, used to form nationalities and languages.

Borrowed from Italian Como.

Borrowed from Italian Catania.

Swedish · 1700

Short for "Swedish turnip," so named because Swedish growers introduced the vegetable to England in the 1700s.

Named after Bologna, Italy, ultimately from Latin Bonōnia.

A clipped form of "baritone."

From Cambodia plus the adjective/noun suffix -an.

From Middle English Egipcien, egyptiane. Displaced Old English Egyptisċ. By surface analysis, Egypt + -ian.

From Hebrew yisraeli, formed from Israel plus the adjective suffix -i.

Formed by adding the suffix -an to Kenya, the East African country.

From Lesbos, the Greek island home of the ancient poet Sappho, whose verses about women's love gave the word its meaning.

From Libya plus the suffix -an, in use since the 16th century.

Formed by adding the common nationality suffix "-an" to "Nigeria."

From Pakistan plus the suffix -i, which forms nationality words in Persian, Urdu, and English alike.

From Palestine plus the suffix -ian, following the same pattern as other nationality words.

Formed from Sudan plus the suffix -ese, used to form nationalities and languages.

From Ancient Greek Kalabría, the name applied to this southern Italian region.

From an old English dialect word for a stream or sandbank, related to German "Bach" ("brook").