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 Latin locātor, "one who places", from locare.

From Latin mediterrāneus ("inland"), built from medius ("middle") and terra ("land").

From Old French touffe ("tuft"), related to Old English þūf, going back to a Germanic root also connected to Latin tūber ("lump, swelling").

Coined in 1802 by astronomer William Herschel from Greek asteroeidēs, "star-like," from astḗr ("star").

From dragon + fly, likely referencing its fierce hunting style compared to the mythical creature.

From Middle English womanly, from woman plus -ly.

From Latin adultus ("grown up"), the past participle of adolescere ("to grow up") — the same root as adolescent.

From Old French gendre, from Latin genus, "kind" or "type" — the same root that gave us genre and genus.

From Armenia + the suffix -an.

Literally "break fast" — the meal that ends the night's fast since your last meal.

Traced back through Dutch koffie and Italian caffè to Ottoman Turkish kahve, ultimately from Arabic qahwa.

Origin uncertain; the word first described the great auk of the Northern Hemisphere before being applied to the unrelated Southern Hemisphere birds we call penguins today.

From Old English byrþen, related to "bear" in the sense of "to carry".

From Middle English welthe, related to "weal" (well-being) — originally meaning happiness and prosperity rather than just money.

From Late Latin reprehensibilis, from Latin reprehendere ("to seize, to blame") — the same root as "reprehend" and "apprehend."

From Greek rhinokeros, literally "nose-horn," from rhis ("nose") plus keras ("horn").

Borrowed from French sofa, ultimately from Arabic ṣuffa, a raised, carpeted stone seat.

By surface analysis, weld + -ing.

From Old English styrtan, "to leap up suddenly," which is also behind the related word startle.

From Old Norse vanta, "to lack," ultimately from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "deficiency" — the same root that gives us "wane" and "wan."

Borrowed directly from Greek agora, meaning "gathering place" or "marketplace."

From Middle English Ducheman, equivalent to Dutch + -man.

From Anglo-Norman raisun (Old French raison), from Latin ratiō ("reckoning, account"), from reor, "to think" — a doublet of ratio and ration.

From Old English wīr, "metal thread," from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to twist or turn."