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 changier, from Latin cambiare ("to exchange, barter"), related to the noun cambium.

From Old French boteille, from Late Latin butticula, a diminutive of buttis ("cask") — the same root that gives us "butt" as in a cask of wine.

From Arabic quṭun via Old Italian and Old French coton, reaching English in the Middle Ages through the medieval cotton trade.

From Old English biter, related to the verb "bite" — something bitter was originally thought of as tasting sharp enough to "bite" the tongue.

From Old French coissin, from Vulgar Latin coxinus, "seat pad," ultimately from Latin coxa, "hip."

From Late Latin competitio, from competere, "to strive together."

From Old French croissir ("to crush, smash"), tracing back through Latin and Germanic roots meaning to grind or strike violently.

From Old English coc, ultimately from Latin coquus, "cook" — related to the Latin verb coquere, "to cook."

From Latin arcanus, "hidden, secret", from arceo, "to shut in or enclose".

From Old French cause, from Latin causa ("reason, motive"), of unknown deeper origin — a doublet of the legal term "chose."

From Old English sott ("foolish person"), of obscure origin, related to French sot ("stupid, foolish").

The verb "bib," meaning to drink heartily, came first — probably from Latin bibo, "to drink." The cloth-garment sense likely followed because a bib is worn while drinking and eating, or because it "drinks up" spills.

A clipped form — "bisexual" shortened to "bi," and separately "biceps" shortened the same way.

From Old French roont/ront, ultimately from Latin rotundus ("round, circular") — the same root that gives us "rotund."

From "Corn(wall)" plus "-ish."

From Old English þrēatnian, built from threat plus the verb-forming suffix -en.

From Old English gesceap, "form, creation," related to an old Germanic root meaning "to create."

From Middle French concerner, ultimately from Latin concernō, "to mix or sift together" — later coming to mean "to have relevance to."

From Old French covent, ultimately from Latin conveniō ("to come together") — it's actually a doublet of the word "convent," which took a more religious path in meaning.

Borrowed from Persian and Turkic languages into South Asian usage as a female honorific, roughly equivalent to "lady" or "madam" for women of rank.

A compound of "wild" and "life," first used to describe animals living freely in nature.

From Late Latin incorporātus, from in- ("in") plus corpus ("body") — literally "to form into a body."

From Old French charme, meaning a spell or chant, from Latin carmen, "song" or "incantation."

From Late Latin aera, originally denoting a starting point from which years were counted.