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 wiht/ġewiht ("weight"), ultimately from a root meaning "to move or carry" — related to "weigh".

From Greek theoria ("contemplation, speculation"), from theoros ("spectator").

From Old English þonne — originally the same word as "than," which split off into a separate spelling for comparisons.

From Old English ċinn, related to Latin gena and Greek génus, all ultimately meaning "jaw" or "chin".

From Old French comun, from Latin communis ("shared, general, public") — ultimately from roots meaning "held together."

From Old English cēap, meaning "trade" or "market price." The adjective sense grew out of the old phrase "good cheap," meaning "a good bargain" — over time "cheap" alone came to mean low-priced.

From Old French crime, from Latin crimen, originally meaning "accusation" or "charge."

From Latin "conscius," meaning "aware, aware of guilt," from "con-" ("together") and "scire" ("to know").

From Old French comparison, from Latin comparatio, from comparare ("to compare").

From Old French carte, from Latin charta, "paper," ultimately from Greek khartes, "papyrus" — the same root as "chart."

From Old English belle, related to Germanic words for "bell" across Dutch, German, and the Scandinavian languages.

From Latin attentio, from attendere ("to stretch toward, pay heed") — the same root as attend.

From Old English bisignes, "state of being busy," built from busy plus -ness. Originally it just meant busyness before narrowing to mean commercial activity.

From Old English beorht/bryht, an ancient Germanic word meaning "to gleam or shine", related to words for "dawn" in Lithuanian and Russian.

From Old English cīese, ultimately from Latin cāseus ("cheese"), the same root that gives Spanish queso.

A learned borrowing from Latin camera ("chamber"); the device sense is short for camera obscura, Latin for "dark chamber."

From Old French cercle and Latin circulus, a diminutive of circus ("ring"), itself from Greek kirkos.

From Old English geleafa via Middle English bileve — related to German Glaube. The final sound shifted from a "v" to an "f" sound by analogy with pairs like "grief/grieve" and "proof/prove."

From Middle English byldynge, from build + the suffix -ing.

From Old English *cohhian, imitating the sound itself — a word that has sounded roughly the same for over a thousand years.

From Old French broisse, ultimately from a Germanic word for bristle or thicket — the same root also gives the "shrubland" sense of brush.

From Latin separatus, past participle of separo, "to separate," from se- ("apart") + paro ("prepare").

Late Latin · 1500

From Old French cisoirs, going back to Late Latin cīsōria, "cutting tools." The modern spelling with "sc-" came later, in the 1500s, when people wrongly linked the word to Latin scissor, meaning "tailor" or "cutter."

From Ancient Greek metaphora, from metaphero ("to transfer, carry across"), from meta- + phero ("to carry").