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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Simply gear plus box — the box that houses the gears.

From Latin valva, "a fold or leaf of a door".

From Ancient Greek kulindros, from kulindo ("I roll"), via Latin cylindrus and Middle French cylindre.

From Old English clyċċan, "to clutch or clench", related to a very old root meaning to ball up or amass.

From Middle Dutch drillen (“bore, move in a circle”).

From Old English hnutu, from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "nut", possibly related to Latin nux.

A simple compound of screw + driver — a tool that "drives" screws. The cocktail sense came much later, reportedly named for oil workers who stirred their drinks with an actual screwdriver.

From an old Germanic root meaning to jolt or collide, arriving in English via French and Dutch influences on the word for a violent impact.

From an old diminutive of "throat" — literally "little throat" — since throttling originally meant squeezing someone's windpipe.

Borrowed from Latin torquere, "to twist."

From Middle English wasshere, formed from wash plus the agent suffix -er.

From Old English strac, related to a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to rub, stroke, or strike" — the same root that gives "strike."

Borrowed from Mexican Spanish ése, literally "that one."

From Old English crūdan ("to press, push"), related to words in German and Dutch meaning to shove or push.

From Old English stoppian ("to stop, close up"), a very old Germanic word related to Dutch stoppen and German stopfen, ultimately from a root meaning to push or plug something.

From paddle + -ing.

From Old English weċġ ("wedge"), from a Proto-Germanic root for the same shape of tool.

From Middle English gagelen, "to cackle like a goose."

A variant of the older English word sipe, from a Germanic root meaning "to drip or trickle" — related to the German word for tallow, sebum-like fats that slowly ooze.

From Old English stille ("motionless, quiet"), from a very old Indo-European root meaning "to be silent or still" — related to "stall".

From Old French chevalerie ("knighthood, cavalry"), from chevalier ("knight, horseman") — a doublet of the word "cavalry."

Coined for the Star Trek franchise; the constructed language was later developed in detail by linguist Marc Okrand for the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

From French attachement, built from attach plus the noun-forming suffix -ment.

From Old French despleier, "to unfold or spread out," ultimately from Latin dis- ("apart") + plicare ("to fold") — a doublet of "deploy".