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 Old English pic ("tar, pitch"), from Latin pix, related to Greek pissa. The sense of throwing or setting up developed separately in Middle English, and "pitch-black" (from the tar) later gave rise to the adjective meaning "very dark".

From Latin fervens, "burning, glowing, zealous," the present participle of fervere, "to boil or be hot" — the same root as fervor and ferment.

Borrowed from French nuance, "shade" or "hue," ultimately traced back to Latin nubes, "cloud."

From Old French queste, "search, hunt," from Latin quaerere, "to seek."

From south + paw. First recorded in the early 1800s; commonly explained by old ballpark layouts that put a left-handed pitcher's throwing arm on the south side, though the term may actually trace back further to 1840s boxing slang for a left-handed punch.

From Old French discret, from Latin discretus, "separated, distinguished" — a doublet of "discrete," which kept the spelling but split off the meaning.

From the name of the Greek philosopher Plato, whose ideas about pure, non-physical forms of love and beauty gave rise to the adjective.

From Old French sens, partly from Latin sensus ("feeling, meaning," from sentiō, "to feel"), partly from a Germanic root meaning "judgment" or "direction."

Formed from highland plus the agent suffix -er, meaning "one belonging to the highlands."

From Gael + the adjective-forming suffix -ic.

From Middle English hennes, ultimately from Old English heonan meaning "from here" — related to the word "here".

From Middle French impudence, from Latin impudentia.

From Old English Beonetlēah, combining bent ("bent-grass") and lēah ("meadow, clearing").

From Old English flocc ("crowd, troop"), a Germanic word also seen in Danish and Swedish flock.

From Old French oste, from Latin hospes, which strangely covered both "guest" and "host" — ultimately from a root meaning "stranger."

Borrowed from French photographie, from Greek photo- ("light") and -graphia ("writing" or "recording") — literally "drawing with light."

From Austria plus the suffix -an.

From damp (the verb) plus -er, someone or something that "damps." The plain, yeast-free bread of the same name is a separate, later use of the word, first recorded around 1825.

From damp plus the verb-forming ending -en, on the same pattern as "sharpen" or "harden."

From Australia plus the suffix -an.

From Middle English dampen ("to suffocate, stifle"), related to German Dampf ("steam, vapor") — the sense of moisture came later.

From Old English spīþra, ultimately from the Germanic root behind "spin" — a spider is literally "the spinning one."

An abbreviation of the phrase "also known as."

From Old French universite, from Medieval Latin universitas, originally meaning "a community or guild of persons," from Latin universus ("whole, entire").