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 develop + -er.

From Medieval Latin individualis, from Latin individuum ("an indivisible thing"), from in- ("not") plus dividuus ("divisible").

* First attested in the late 14th century. * account + -ing

From Latin manifestus, "obvious, palpable," built from manus ("hand") plus an uncertain second element. A doublet of manifesto.

From Latin perceptio, "a gathering or grasping", from percipere, "to perceive" — see "perceive".

From Latin spectrum ("appearance, image"), from speciō ("to look at"). A doublet of "specter" — the two words share the same Latin ancestor.

From "conscious" + the noun-forming suffix "-ness."

From aware + -ness.

From Latin educatio ("a rearing, bringing up"), from educare ("to educate").

From Old French faisable ("doable"), from faire ("to do"), ultimately from Latin facere.

From Latin monopolium, from Greek monopolion, "the exclusive right to sell," combining monos (sole) with poleo (to sell).

From fertilize + the agent-noun ending -er.

From Old English swāt ("sweat"), tracing back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to sweat," shared with many related words across Germanic and other Indo-European languages.

From Old French profit, from Latin proficio, "to advance, make progress, be useful."

From the verb hallucinate, ultimately from Latin hallucinatus.

From employ + -ee, a suffix marking the person to whom an action is done; first used in the early 1800s, likely influenced by the French employé.

From Old French deposer, from de- ("down") and poser ("to put, place") — historically confused with the related but separate word "deposit."

From Anglo-Norman taillour, ultimately from Latin tālea ("a cutting"), reflecting the trade's origin in cutting cloth.

From Old French alterer, from Medieval Latin alterare ("to make other"), ultimately from Latin alter, "the other."

From on + line, first used around the 1950s for equipment directly connected to and controlled by a computer.

From Latin cognitus, "known," the past participle of cognoscere, "to get to know."

From Old French exposer, "to lay open, set forth", ultimately from Latin expōnō, "to set forth" or "put out".

Originally meant "alive, living" (as in "the quick and the dead") before it came to mean "fast."

From Latin tepidus, "lukewarm," related to tepere, "to be warm."