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 arisan, from a- + rise — literally "to rise up."

From Old English ilca, "same" — originally used in Scottish surnames to mean "of that same [place]," then broadened to mean "kind" or "sort."

The metal sense comes from Old English lēad. The verb "to lead" (guide) is a separate, unrelated word from the same Old English root as "load."

A purely imitative (mimetic) word representing the natural sound people make while hesitating — not derived from any older root word.

From Old English þǣr.

From Old French gramaire ("classical learning"), from Latin grammatica, from Ancient Greek grammatike ("skilled in writing"), from gramma ("letter, writing").

From Latin familia, originally meaning a household including its servants, from famulus, "servant."

From French provenance, "origin," from provenir ("to arise, come forth"), from Latin provenio.

Variant spelling of Artz.

From Old French humain, from Latin hūmānus ("of man"), related to homo ("man, human being").

From "national" plus "-ity," a suffix that turns an adjective into an abstract noun — likely influenced by the French nationalité.

From Anglo-Norman citesain, from Old French cite ("city") plus a suffix meaning "one who belongs to" — ultimately from Latin civitas.

From Latin tribus, originally referring to one of the three main divisions of the early Roman people, later broadened to mean any ethnic or social grouping.

Literally "bull excrement"; the figurative sense meaning nonsense or lies dates to around the 1910s.

From Old French vapor, from Latin vapor, "steam" or "heat." The American spelling drops the British "u" found in "vapour."

From Old English swēte, going back through Proto-Germanic to a very old Indo-European root for "sweet," shared with words in Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit.

From Old English bera, probably originally an epithet meaning "the brown one" — some scholars think ancient Germanic peoples avoided using the animal's real name out of superstition.

Borrowed from Hindi ber.

Probably from an old English word meaning "ready" or "quick", describing a sudden sharp motion; the Jamaican cooking sense is unrelated and comes from a different, disputed source.

Origin uncertain — possibly from an old English term for a mixed, cheap drink of wine, beer, and other liquids, later applied to any jumbled nonsense.

From Old English fāh ("hostile"), from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to hate" — the same root that gave us words for feuding.

From German Brezel, ultimately from Latin brachium ("arm") — the shape is thought to resemble folded arms.

From Old French norrice, from Late Latin nutricia, based on Latin nutrix, "wet nurse", from nutrire, "to nourish".

From Old French (li) dis mals, "the bad days" — a medieval reference to certain unlucky calendar days, which by Middle English had broadened to mean "gloomy" or "dreary."