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 French ruine, from Latin ruina, "collapse," from ruere, "to fall or rush down."

Formed from lull plus an old interjection "bye" used to soothe children — first recorded around 1560.

From Old English handbōc, a compound of hand and book, possibly influenced by the similar German word Handbuch.

From Old French famine, ultimately related to Latin fames, "hunger."

From Old French parlement, "discussion, assembly," from parler, "to speak."

From Anglo-Norman sercher, from Late Latin circare ("to go around, search for"), from circus ("circle").

From Latin extrēmus, the superlative form of exter ("outer") — literally "outermost."

Inflected forms.

From Late Latin essentialis, built on essentia, "essence" — literally, relating to the core being of a thing.

Probably from Dutch eng ("narrow"), related to Old English enge and German eng.

Recorded in Scots from around 1510, probably from a Low German word meaning "oblique" or "off-center." It began to be used to describe gay people in the late 19th century.

Originally short for "rifled gun", from Old French rifler (\"to scratch, scrape, plunder\").

From Old French executer, from Latin exsequi, "to follow through" — ex- plus sequi ("to follow").

From Old French memoire, from Latin memoria ("remembrance"), from memor ("mindful, remembering").

From Old French refrescher, "to make fresh again," built from re- plus fresh.

From Old French passage, from passer, "to pass."

From Old French boulette, diminutive of boule, "ball" — the projectile is named after its rounded shape.

A compound of fire (in the sense of "discharge a projectile") and arm ("weapon").

From Old Norse vindauga, literally "wind-eye" — an opening that let wind (and light) into a building, before glass panes were common.

A shortened form of "booby," which itself traces back to Spanish bobo, "fool."

From Old English uder, tracing back to a very old Proto-Indo-European root also behind the Latin "uber" and German "Euter" — all meaning the same thing.

From Old English brēost, from a prehistoric Germanic root related to swelling.

From Latin occupatio, "a seizing, taking possession", from occupare — see "occupy".

A compound of "odd" and "ball" that first appeared describing a bonus ball in 1930s pinball-style games, before shifting to describe eccentric people by the 1940s.