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 muffle plus the agent suffix -er — "something that muffles."

From Middle English blowere, blower, from Old English blāwere; equivalent to blow + -er.

From Old English dēaw, from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "moisture" or "haze," related to German Tau and Dutch dauw.

From Old French passer, "to step or walk by," ultimately from Latin passus, "a step" — the same root behind "pace."

From Middle English flasshen, likely imitating the sound and suddenness of a splash or burst of light.

From French gramme, from Ancient Greek gramma ("a small weight").

From French impersonnel, from Latin impersonalis, "not personal."

From Old French poudre, from Latin pulvis, "dust" — a doublet of the word "pulverize".

From Latin continuus ("connected, unbroken"), from continere, "to hold together." It pushed out the old native English word singal for the same idea.

From Old English setlan ("to seat, put to rest"), related to setl ("seat"); merged over time with a separate verb meaning "to reconcile."

From Latin ratus, "fixed, calculated" — the same root that gives us "ratio" and "ration."

From trace + -er.

From "nose" + the diminutive suffix "-le" — essentially "a little nose."

From Old French vaissel, from Late Latin vascellum, "small container" — a diminutive of vas, "vase".

From Old English cealf, from a Proto-Germanic root shared with German Kalb and Dutch kalf.

From Old English colt, related to Germanic words for something round or plump, possibly linked to the idea of a young animal still filling out its shape.

From Old Norse fylja, related to the English word foal.

From Old English fola, an ancient Germanic word for the young of a horse, related to Latin pullus ("young animal") and to the English word "filly."

From Middle French estalon, of Germanic origin, related to "stall" (the animal enclosure where breeding horses were kept).

Traces back through Portuguese and Malay to Sanskrit mantrin ("counselor, minister"). The word originally referred to Chinese imperial officials, and both the "esoteric official language" sense and the citrus fruit sense (named for the fruit's orange, official-style robes) developed from that.

From Old English mīere ("female horse"), tracing back through Proto-Germanic to a Proto-Indo-European root for "horse" — the same root behind the German Mähre and Welsh march.

From Old English bæcce, "something baked" — related to the verb "bake."

A straightforward compound of "hazel" and "nut," going back to Old English hæselhnutu.

Traced through Italian, Spanish, and Arabic back to a Middle Persian word for a thorny plant — a long journey for a single vegetable.