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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The past participle of "give," from Old English giefan.

Formed from "got" plus the old past-participle ending "-en", the same pattern seen in "forgotten".

The past form of "get", itself from Old Norse geta, meaning "to obtain" or "to guess".

From Old Norse geta, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to seize" or "to hold" — one of the most flexible and frequently used verbs in English.

The past participle of freeze, from Old English frēosan.

From Old English freosan, from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to freeze," ultimately traced to a Proto-Indo-European word for frost.

The past participle of forsake, formed with the old -n ending.

From Old English forsacan, "to renounce or refuse," built from for- (a negating prefix) and sacan, "to dispute or contend."

From Old English forġiefan, literally "to give up (a grievance)" — for- + give.

From Old English forġeten, the past participle of forget.

From Old English forġietan, from for- + get — literally "to give up (a memory)."

From Middle English foretellen — fore- + tell.

From Latin lingua ("language") plus the suffix -ist.

Borrowed from German linguistisch, built from linguist plus -ic, and ultimately from Latin lingua ("tongue, language"). In use in English since the early 1800s.

Coined from linguist plus -ics, modeled on the German Linguistik, in the mid-1800s.

From graduate plus the noun-forming suffix -ion.

From Medieval Latin graduatus ("having taken a degree"), from gradus ("step, degree").

From Latin tuitiō ("protection, guardianship"), from tuērī ("to watch over"); the meaning narrowed over time from general "care" to specifically the care and instruction given by a teacher.

From air + tight, first used literally of seals and containers, later extended figuratively to arguments and plans with no flaws.

From Old French dart, ultimately from a Frankish word for a throwing spear — the same ancient root that gives us the idea of "leaping" or "springing forward."

From Middle English entretenement, from Old French entretenement, "support, maintenance"; related to "entertain."

From "entertain" plus the agent-forming suffix -er.

From Old French entretenir, from entre ("among") + tenir ("to hold"), originally meaning to maintain or keep someone engaged.

From entertain + -ing.