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.

Browse etymology by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Recently added

From Latin aqua, "water" — the colour sense developed because it resembles the blue-green of clear water.

From Old French almande/amande, tracing back through Latin amygdala to Ancient Greek amygdálē.

From Latin attributus, past participle of attribuere, "to assign, bestow," from ad- ("to") plus tribuere ("to grant, bestow").

Formed from record plus the suffix -ing.

Short for "moving picture" plus "-ie," first recorded in American English in the early 1900s.

From Middle English biche, bicche, from Old English biċċe, from Proto-West Germanic *bikkjā, from Proto-Germanic *bikjǭ (“female dog”) (compare Norwegian bikkje (“dog, bitch”), Old Danish bikke (“bitch”)), from Proto-Germanic *bikjaną (“to thrust, attack”) (compare Old Norse bikkja (“to plunge into water”), Dutch bikken (“to hack”)). Related to bicker.

Originally a German trademark, from a term meaning "acetylated spiraeic acid." The name later became a generic term for the drug in most countries.

From Old English wealhhnutu, literally "foreign nut" — the wealh part meant "foreign" or "Welsh," since the nut reached England from continental Europe rather than growing natively there.

From gun + shot.

From Middle English dischargen, from Old French deschargier ("to unload"), from Late Latin discarricare — built from dis- + charge.

A back-formation from injury, ultimately from Latin iniuria, "wrong, injustice."

From French banal, originally describing something "held in common" under feudal service, later shifting to mean "unoriginal" or "commonplace."

From Old French contenir, from Latin continēre, "to hold together" — con- ("together") + tenēre ("to hold").

From Latin relatus, the past participle of referre, "to carry back or report." A doublet of "refer."

From Old English, tracing back to a Germanic root meaning "growth" or "stature" — related to the word "wax" (as in "to wax and wane").

From Ancient Greek kharaktēristikos ("marked by a distinguishing feature"), from kharaktēr ("a mark, character").

From Old English belt, borrowed long ago from Latin balteus, "sword-belt."

From "acet-" (linked to vinegar) plus the chemical ending "-one," the same ending found in words like "ketone."

Originally "a napron," from Old French naperon, related to nappe, "tablecloth" — over time, "a napron" was misheard as "an apron," the same process that gave us the words adder and umpire.

From Middle English mate, borrowed from Middle Low German mate ("messmate"), ultimately tied to Old English words for sharing food together — a doublet of the word behind "meat."

From "Penn" plus Latin "sylvania" ("woodlands"), meaning "Penn's woods", named by King Charles II in honor of William Penn's father.

Probably from Old Norse banga, "to pound or hammer," describing a heavy striking action; the hairstyle sense developed separately from "bang off," meaning cut straight across.

Borrowed from French Michelle, the feminine form of Michel, ultimately from Hebrew mikha'el ("who is like God?").

First recorded in 1678, from Latin "sēcrētus" ("separated, hidden").