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 French princesse, formed from prince plus the feminine suffix -ess.

From Latin prīnceps, "first head," from prīmus ("first") plus capiō ("to seize, take").

From Old English sarig ("feeling grief, sad"), related to "sore" rather than to "sorrow," despite the similar meanings.

From Anglo-Norman veine, from Latin vēna ("blood vessel"). A doublet of vena, the anatomical term still used in Latin names for specific veins.

From Old French artaire, from Latin arteria, from Greek arteria, originally meaning "windpipe" as well as "artery."

From Latin orbita, "track, course," related to orbis, "circle."

From Latin malleare ("to hammer"), from malleus ("hammer").

From Latin and Greek forms of the Hebrew name Yehuda ("Judah"), originally referring to people of the tribe and later kingdom of Judah.

From French horizontal, from horizon (see "horizon").

From Old French feminin, from Latin femininus, from femina ("woman").

From Latin Eurōpa, borrowed from Greek Eurṓpē — originally the name of a princess in Greek myth carried off by Zeus.

Ancient Greek · 1802

From Ancient Greek enérgeia ("activity"), from energós ("active"), from en- ("in") + érgon ("work"). The physics sense was coined by English scientist Thomas Young in 1802.

From Latin emittere, "to send out" — a combination of ex- ("out") and mittere ("to send").

Coined around 1891 by physicist George Stoney, blending "electric" and "ion" to name the unit of electric charge; the word later came to mean the particle itself.

A shortened form of "acute," originally meaning "sharp-witted"; the meaning shifted in 19th-century American slang to "pretty" and "endearing."

From Old French corage, ultimately from Latin cor meaning "heart" — the same root behind "cardiac." The idea is that bravery comes from the heart.

From Latin corona ("wreath, crown"), by way of Old French — the same root behind "corona" and "coronation."

From Middle French deité, from Latin deitās, built from deus ("god").

From Greek apostrophos, "turning away," from apostrephein, "to turn away" — the punctuation sense comes from the mark showing where a letter has been "turned away," or omitted.

Borrowed from Maori mana, from a much older Polynesian root with the same meaning. Its now-common gaming sense ("magic points") was popularized by science-fiction writer Larry Niven in 1969 and later spread through tabletop and video games.

From Old English heofon, an ancient Germanic word originally meaning "sky," which came to also mean the divine dwelling place above it.

From Old English feld, related to the idea of a flat, open space — the same ancient root that gives us "flat."

From Old French engin ("skill, cleverness, war machine"), from Latin ingenium ("innate talent, natural ability") — the same root that gives us "ingenious".

From Old English cæg, of uncertain deeper origin, though it may ultimately trace back to a root meaning "stake" or "peg" — early keys were simple rods used to lift a bar across a door.