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 ōra ("unwrought metal") blended with ār ("brass, copper, bronze").

From withdraw plus the noun-forming suffix -al.

From Old Norse lán, related to the verb "to leave (over)" — the same root family as "lend".

A learned borrowing from Latin depositus, the past participle of deponere ("to put down") — making it a doublet of "depot."

A back-formation from "assets", from Anglo-Norman asetz ("enough"), from Old French assez.

From Old French pris, preis, from Latin pretium ("worth, value, reward"); related to "precious" and "appreciate."

Entered English around the 1400s from Old French revenue, "a return", from Latin revenire, "to come back" — literally money that "comes back" to you.

From Old French constitucion, from Latin constitutio, "arrangement, order," from constituere ("to establish").

From Medieval Latin quotāre, "to number chapters," itself from Latin quotus ("which one in sequence"). The sense shifted over centuries from "cite a reference" to "repeat exact words" to "state a price."

From Middle English gain ("profit, advantage"), from Old Norse gagn ("benefit, use"), later reinforced by an Old French word meaning "profit" or "cultivation."

From French similarité, built on the same root as "similar."

From Middle French observacion, from Latin observatio, built on observare ("to watch").

From Latin subiectīvus, built from subject plus the adjective-forming -ive.

From Medieval Latin obiectivus, built on the same root as object.

From Latin factum, "a thing done or made," the past participle of facere, "to do." Doublet of "feat."

From Latin opinio, from opinor, "to think or suppose" — it displaced the native Old English word wena.

From Latin factio, "a group acting together" — a doublet of the word "fashion."

From Old French planke, ultimately from Latin phalanga, itself borrowed from Greek phalanx — the same root that gives us "phalanx."

From French plateforme, literally "flat form" — plate meaning "flat" plus forme, "form."

From Old French partie, "a part, a side," from partir, "to divide," ultimately from Latin pars, "a part" — the same root as "part."

From Latin corporatus, "made into a body," from corpus, "body" — the idea of many individuals forming one legal "body".

From Latin corporatio, "the forming of a body," from corporare, "to form into a body" — from corpus, "body".

Borrowed from Japanese dōjō, literally "place of the way."

Borrowed from Japanese sensei, "teacher," literally "born before" — someone who came earlier and thus knows more.