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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First attested late 16th c. in the sense "allow or cause to dangle, hang," from sense 2.

From Old French tan, "tanbark" (the oak bark used to cure leather), tracing back to a Gaulish word for oak. The "get a suntan" meaning came later, from the browning effect of tanning leather.

From Old English rūm, meaning open space, related to a very old root meaning "to tear open" — the same idea behind clearing space for something.

From French "marron" ("feral, runaway"), itself from Spanish "cimarrón" meaning wild or fugitive.

From Old French navie, "fleet of ships," from Latin navigium, from navis, "ship" — the color sense comes from the traditional dark blue of naval uniforms.

From Anglo-Norman "ivurie", from Latin "eboreus" ("of ivory"), tracing back to an ancient Egyptian word for elephant and ivory — a very long journey for one small word.

From Spanish índigo, ultimately from Greek indikon, "Indian dye," reflecting the plant's origin in India.

From French atmosphère, from New Latin atmosphaera, from Greek atmos ("vapor") + sphaira ("sphere").

From Old English ræt, of uncertain deeper origin, related to similar words across Germanic languages.

From hand + cuff, first recorded in this form around 1775.

Formed from up- + date; first recorded in English in the 1940s.

From Middle English availlable, built from avail plus -able.

Named after the German botanist Leonhart Fuchs (1501–1566), whom the plant genus honors.

From Greek martys, meaning "witness" — someone who bears witness to their faith through suffering or death.

From Old English godsibb, originally meaning "godparent" (literally "God-relative"). Over time, close family friends and godparents who chatted about family matters gave the word its modern sense of idle talk about others.

From Latin candidatus, "one dressed in white" — Roman office-seekers traditionally wore white togas.

Ancient Greek · 1854

Coined from the Ancient Greek kērós ("wax") plus the chemical suffix "-ene"; it was trademarked as a name in 1854 before becoming a generic term.

From Old French mail, "hammer," going back to Latin malleus — the same root behind "malleable."

From Italian finale ("ending"), from Latin finis.

From Old English dēah/dēag, "colour" or "hue," ultimately from a root meaning "to conceal" or "be dark" — the same root behind "dusk."

From Latin pigmentum, related to pingere ("to paint") — a doublet of "pimento" and "pimiento".

From Middle French bombarde, an old word for a cannon or mortar, ultimately from Latin bombus meaning "a booming sound."

From Old French cresme, a blend of a Late Latin word for "ointment" and a Gaulish word for "cream" — the cosmetic and dairy senses share this same root.

From Spanish chocolate, borrowed from the Nahuatl (Aztec) word chocolātl, whose deeper origin is uncertain.