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 Ancient Greek Nike, meaning "victory" — the same root the sportswear brand borrowed for its name.

From the name of the Greek letter ῥῶ (rhô).

From Old English gutt ("entrails"), going back to a very old root meaning "to pour" — the same idea behind the word "gutter".

From the Hebrew letter פֵּא (pê), tracing back to a Proto-Semitic word for "mouth" — the same root gave us the letter "pi".

A clipped, informal form of information.

From Old French envie, from Latin invidia, itself from invidere, "to look at with ill will" (in-, "upon" + videre, "to see").

From French gentil, "noble" or "elegant" — the same root that gives English "gentle" and "genteel," though jaunty took on a livelier, more carefree meaning.

Origin uncertain, possibly linked to an old dialect word meaning to tire a horse out with hard riding, before it softened into meaning any short excursion.

From Old French jaunisse, from jaune, "yellow" — the medical condition was named directly after its most visible symptom.

From Latin argentum, "silver" — the same root that gives Argentina its name, after Spanish explorers heard tales of silver along the Río de la Plata.

From Old English healf, meaning "half" or "side," from an ancient Germanic root found across languages such as German (halb) and Swedish (halv).

From Old English wann, meaning "dark" or "dusky" — the sense shifted over time from darkness to the pale, drained look of illness.

A shortening of longer words beginning with the "three" element that traces back to the ancient root for the number three.

From French democrate, from democratie, modelled on aristocrate.

From republic plus the adjective ending -an, reinforced by French républicain.

A clipped, childlike form of "papa."

An abbreviation, most commonly for "air conditioning" in everyday use.

From Old French error, from Latin error, "a wandering about, a mistake," from errāre, "to wander or stray."

From Latin functio, "performance, execution," from fungor, "to perform or discharge."

From Latin sōlus ("alone, single") for the "only" sense; the foot/shoe and fish senses trace back to a separate Latin word, solea, for a flat sandal.

From Middle English Persien, from Middle French persien, from Italian persiano, from Medieval Latin Persiānus, from Persia (itself from Persēs/Persa (“Persian man”) [from Ancient Greek Πέρσης (Pérsēs), itself from Old Persian 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿 (p-a-r-s /⁠Pārsa⁠/, “Persian”)] + -ia (suffix forming country names)) + -iānus. Equivalent to Pers(ia) + -ian. Compare Early Classical Persian پارس (pārs) or modern Iranian Persian فارس (fârs), where the shift p > f.

From Late Latin Tuscanus, "belonging to the Tusci", the ancient people whose name also gave us "Etruscan".

From Middle English po (found also in pocock), from Old English pāwa, pēa (“peacock”), from Proto-Germanic *pāwô (“peacock”), from Latin pāvō. Cognate with Dutch pauw, German Pfau. See also peacock.

A romanization of Chinese 路 (lù, “route”)