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.

Browse etymology by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Recently added

From Latin interior, meaning "inner."

From Latin rhetoricus, from Greek rhetorikos ("concerning public speaking").

From New Latin internalis, from Latin internus, meaning "inward, internal."

From Greek rhetorikos, "of an orator," from rhetor ("public speaker").

From Middle French funerailles ("funeral rites"), tracing back to Latin funus ("funeral, death, corpse"). It replaced the older English term līcþeġnung, literally "dead body service."

From Middle English cable, via Old Northern French, ultimately from Latin capere ("to take, seize") — the original sense was a rope strong enough to "seize" and hold something fast.

From Latin factor, "a doer or maker," from facere, "to do."

From Latin actor ("doer"), from agere ("to do, to act").

From Late Latin criminalis, from Latin crimen, "crime" or "accusation."

From "react" plus the agent suffix "-or."

From Latin lingua, "tongue" or "language," with a casual -o ending tacked on.

From Late Latin legibilis, "able to be read," from Latin legō, "to read."

A learned borrowing from Latin lēgālis, from lēx, "law" — a doublet of "loyal," which came into English through French instead.

From Latin trītus, "worn out," from terō ("to wear away").

From Middle French conductour, going back to Latin conductor, "one who leads or hires" — from the same root as "conduct."

From Old French canal, from Latin canalis, "channel", ultimately from a word for "reed" — a doublet of "channel".

Formed from Latin tractus ("pulled, drawn") plus the agent suffix -or, meaning literally "a puller."

From Old English raca/racu, "tool with a row of teeth", from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to straighten" — the "immoral man" sense developed separately, likely a shortening of "rakehell".

From Old English wull, from a very old Germanic and Indo-European root shared with Latin lana and Welsh gwlân.

From Old English wīn, ultimately from Latin vīnum — the same root that gives us "vine" and "vino".

From Old English wiþ, which originally meant "against" or "opposite" — its meaning shifted over time in Middle English to mean "together with," replacing the older word "mid."

From Old English ar, from Proto-Germanic airo, meaning "oar".

A learned borrowing from Latin sic, meaning "thus, so."

Borrowed from French mal, "illness," ultimately from Latin malus, "bad."