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 business plus man; it replaced the older word merchant in everyday use.

Formed from "trans-" plus "gender," modelled on the earlier word "transsexual."

From Latin "dīmēnsiō", "a measuring out", from "dīmētior", "to measure".

Originally a variant of "unity", later specialized to mean a single standard measure or item.

From Latin frictio, "a rubbing," from fricare, "to rub."

From Old French destance, from Latin distantia, from distare ("to stand apart"), from dis- + stare ("to stand").

From Middle French vélocité, from Latin vēlōcitās ("speed"), from vēlōx ("fast").

From Old English lagu, borrowed from Old Norse lög, literally "things laid down" — related to the verb lay.

From French gravité or Latin gravitās ("heaviness, seriousness"), from gravis ("heavy, serious"). A doublet of "gravitas".

From Old French masse, from Latin massa, "lump" or "dough," ultimately from Greek — a doublet of "masa."

From Old French force, from Late Latin fortia, derived from Latin fortis, meaning "strong."

From Latin opportunitas, related to opportunus — the same root as "opportune."

From Old French a las, from a ("ah") plus las ("weary"), from Latin lassus ("tired").

Borrowed directly from Spanish nada, meaning "nothing."

From George plus town, honoring various King Georges across different places that adopted the name.

Named after Calcutta (now Kolkata), India's former capital, where this style of auction-pool betting is said to have become popular.

Borrowed from Hindustani लखनऊ (lakhnaū).

Named after Madras (now Chennai), the Indian city the dish is associated with; the exact origin of the city name itself is disputed.

From the Tamil name Chennai, adopted officially in 1996 to replace the colonial-era name Madras.

From Hindi, ultimately meaning "city of Jai [Singh]," after the king who founded it.

From Portuguese Bombaim, likely linked to the Marathi goddess name Mumbādevī.

From Marathi मुंबई (mumbaī), from मुंबा (mumbā, the goddess Mumba) plus आई (āī, "mother").

From the city of Bhopal, India, site of the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak — one of the worst industrial disasters in history.

Formed from the city name Bangalore (now officially Bengaluru), once shorthand in business jargon for the offshoring of tech and support jobs to India.