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 English sting, related to a Germanic root shared with words describing a piercing thrust.

Compare stoccado.

From Old English sticca ("rod, twig"), related to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to pierce" — the same root behind "stigma."

The past participle of "steal," from Old English stelan.

From Latin stola, from Greek stole, meaning "garment" or "equipment."

From Old English sprædan ("to spread, expand"), from a Proto-Germanic root meaning to strew or scatter.

From Middle English spoilen, borrowed from Old French espoillier, from Latin spoliāre, "to strip, plunder," related to spolium, "plunder."

Proto-Germanic · 1567

Attested from around 1567, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German splitten, "to split," ultimately from a Proto-Germanic root related to "splice" and "splinter."

Origin uncertain; possibly linked to "spit," though the exact history is unclear.

The noun comes from Old English spitu, "rod for roasting meat," related to Dutch spit and German Spieß. The saliva-related senses come from a separate Old English root meaning to eject fluid from the mouth.

From Old English spinnan, "to spin thread" — the sense of twisting fibers into yarn came first, with "rotate" and "present with bias" developing later.

The past tense and past participle of "spend."

From Old English spendan, borrowed from Latin expendere ("to weigh out"). A doublet of "expend" — both trace back to the same Latin verb.

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

From Old English spēd ("success, prosperity"). Originally meant "good luck" or "success" — the "fast movement" sense developed later, still visible in the old phrase "Godspeed."

The past participle of "speak," formed with the old "-en" ending also seen in "broken" and "woken."

From Old English/Germanic smelt, related to melting and metalworking.

From Old English spāca, describing the rods of a wheel — the same root gave us "spike."

From Old English slītan, meaning "to tear apart," from a Proto-Germanic root shared with the idea of ripping or splitting.

From Old Norse slyngva, "to hurl," related to a Germanic root meaning "to wind, twist" — the same idea behind German schlingen.

From Old English slīdan, "to slide, glide" — an ancient Germanic verb related to a root meaning "slippery."

Mostly a British spelling variant of "slue," describing a turning or twisting motion; unrelated to "slay," despite being its past tense form in a different verb.

From Old English slean ("to strike, kill"), related to modern German schlagen ("to hit"); the same root behind "slaughter."

From Old English sittan, going back to a very old Indo-European root meaning "to sit" that also gave us words like the Latin sedeo and the Russian sidet.