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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Variant of McRae.

From Middle English myrtheles, equivalent to mirth + -less.

Variant of Milligan.

From musket + -oon, after French mousqueton. Compare Italian moschettone.

From monkey + shine.

From mesh + work.

From mis- + happy + -ness.

From micro- + -kinesis.

From meta- + (uni)verse. Analyzable as meta- + -verse. In the sci-fi sense coined by American science fiction writer Neal Stephenson in 1992.

From mull + -ock.

From mutual + -ist.

From French médicastre or Italian medicastro, from Late Latin medicaster, from Latin medicus (“a doctor, a physician; a surgeon”) + -aster (suffix forming nouns expressing incomplete resemblance, which are thus usually pejorative).

Perhaps a variant of McBain.

Variant of Mitchell.

Perhaps an older form of Montrose.

Borrowed from Hindi मूली (mūlī, “[Indian] radish”) (feminine of मूल (mūl)), from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀫𑀽𑀮 (mūla), from Sanskrit मूल (mūla).

From misty + -fy.

Borrowed from French mouton (“sheep”). Doublet of mutton.

A variant of Mosley.

From moon + -like. Compare Middle English mone-lich, Old English mōnelīċ (“lunar”).

From Latin moribundus (“dying”).

By appellativization from Medusa + head.

By surface analysis, meta- + chron- + -ous.