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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Formed from roost plus -er, originally meaning "one that roosts." It became the polite American alternative to "cock" once that word picked up other slang meanings.

From Old English ċicen, of uncertain deeper origin, possibly related to "cock." The "coward" meaning is a much later figurative extension.

From Old French falcun, from Late Latin falco, likely from a Germanic word related to "pale" or "fallow" — possibly describing the bird's coloring.

From Latin testiculus, a diminutive of testis, "witness" — an odd-sounding link that comes from the old Roman practice of swearing oaths while touching this part of the body as a symbol of virility.

From Greek oktopous, literally "eight-foot", from okto ("eight") + pous ("foot").

Formed from "follow" plus the "-ing" ending.

From Greek krisis, "a decision or turning point," from krinein, "to judge or decide."

From bankrupt plus the noun suffix -cy.

From Italian bancarotta, literally "broken bench" — moneylenders who could no longer pay their debts reportedly had their market bench physically broken to signal it publicly.

Shortened from pianoforte, Italian for "soft-loud," from piano ("soft") and forte ("strong/loud") — named for its ability to vary volume, unlike the harpsichord.

From Spanish guitarra, from Arabic qīṯāra, ultimately from Ancient Greek kithara; a doublet of "cithara" and "zither."

From Italian violino, "little viola."

From Old Norse flatr ("flat"), borrowed into Middle English. The "apartment" sense comes from an older meaning of flat as "a level floor or storey."

From New Latin electricus, "of amber," coined because rubbing amber produces a static charge; ultimately from Greek ēlektron, "amber."

From Old English ende, related to German Ende and Dutch einde, all going back to a very old root meaning "front" or "forehead" — the same root behind "anti-."

From Old English gat, an ancient Germanic word for the animal; the "lecherous man" sense comes from the old expression "horny as a goat."

From Old English deopnes-related forms, built on "deep" plus the abstract suffix "-th" — the same pattern as "width" from "wide".

From Old English dēop ("deep, profound"), from Proto-Germanic deupaz, from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "deep."

From Middle English dirti, an alteration of dritti, built from dirt plus the adjective ending -y.

From Old French difference, from Latin differentia, itself from differens, the present participle of differre, "to differ."

From Old French differer, from Latin differo, "to carry apart" — from dis- ("apart") + fero ("carry").

From Old French different, from Latin differens, the present participle of differre, "to differ."

From Old French douter, ultimately from Latin dubitare, "to be uncertain, to waver." The silent "b" was added later by scholars trying to match the Latin spelling.

From Old English drȳge, related to Old Norse and German words meaning "dry" or "hard" — going back to a very old root meaning "to become firm or solid".