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.

Browse etymology by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Recently added

From method + -ize.

From name + -worthy.

Borrowed from Yup'ik maklak (“bearded seal”), referring to sealskin used to make boots, originally derived from Proto-Eskimo *makla (“bearded seal, spotted seal”).

Variant of McDermott.

From natal + -ity, perhaps after mortality. Compare French natalité (“birthrate”) and Middle English natalyte (“birth”). Philosophical usage introduced by Hannah Arendt.

Clipped compound.

From Middle English *miskennen (suggested by miskenninge (“mistake, misinterpretation”)), from Old English *miscennan (suggested by miscennung (“a mistake or variation in pleading before a court, or a fine exacted for this mistake”)), equivalent to mis- + ken. Cognate with Scots misken (“to not know, misken”), Dutch miskennen (“to fail to recognise, ignore”), German mißkennen (“to misunderstand”), Swedish misskänna (“to misunderstand”).

Inherited from Middle English mystynesse; equivalent to misty + -ness.

From a Middle English vernacular form of the Old French given name Michel (“Michael”), or in some cases from a Middle English nickname muchel (“big”).

From Middle English myrienesse, myrynesse, from Old English miriġness, myriġness (“pleasantness, sweetness”), equivalent to merry + -ness.

From Latin memorātus, past participle of memorāre (“to bring to remembrance, mention, recount”), from memor (“remembering”); see memory.

From Moscow + -ium, named after Moscow Oblast. Promulgated as the proposed name for ununpentium in June 2016 by the IUPAC based on recommendations of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Vanderbilt University and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to honor the region where the element was discovered.

Compare German muffeln (“grouse, grumble”) and similar German words with similar meanings such as Muff, mupf, Muffel and Dutch moppen (“growl, grouse”). Probably related to mop (“grimace”).

From Northern Middle English nychtbourschype, neȝeborusipe, equivalent to neighbor + -ship. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Noaberskup (“neighborship”), West Frisian neibuorskip (“neighborship”), Dutch nabuurschap (“neighborship”), German Low German Naberskupp, Naverschop (“neighborhood; neighborship”), German Nachbarschaft (“neighborship; neighborhood”), Danish naboskab (“neighborship”), Swedish naboskap (“neighborship”).

From negative + -ist.

Variant of McMurphy.

From mine + laying.

From Late Latin minacia (“threat”) + -ious, from Latin minax (“threatening”) + -ia (suffix forming abstract nouns). Cf. Italian minaccioso, attested 1532.

From Old French mendicité, from Latin mendicitas.

Shortened from newbie.

From mis- + perform.

Borrowed from French muid, from Latin modius. Doublet of modius and mud.

Synchronically, by surface analysis, mid + -ness; diachronically, known to have an equivalent etymon in Old English and probably never absent from the language since then, albeit rare.

From the Irish variant of McMillan.