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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Old English · 1903

Revived around 1903 from the Old English word for "relative, kinsman," combining "sib" (kin) with "-ling."

From Old English modor, from a very old Proto-Indo-European root that also gave us "matter", "matrix" and "Madeira".

From Old English fæder, from a very old Indo-European root shared with Latin pater and Greek patēr.

From Latin parens, "one who brings forth," the present participle of parere ("to give birth to, produce").

From Old English riht, meaning both "straight" and "morally correct" — the two senses have stayed linked ever since.

From Old English left/lyft, originally meaning "weak" or "clumsy" — an old, negative association with the left side that survives in the word itself.

From Old English hwæt, going back to a Proto-Indo-European root for "who/what" — the ancestor of similar words like German was and Latin quod.

From Old French lavanderie, from Latin lavandaria, related to launder.

From "bee" plus "wax," referring to the wax bees secrete to build their combs.

From Old English weax, an ancient Germanic word for the substance made by bees.

From Old English sutheast, a straightforward combination of south and east.

From Old English suthwest, combining south and west.

From Old English "norþwest," combining "north" and "west."

From Middle English "northest," from Old English "norþēast" — simply "north" plus "east."

From Old English þicce ("thick, dense"), part of a very old Germanic word family — related to Dutch dik and German dick.

From Old English snaca, from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to creep" or "to slide."

From Old English eorþe, an ancient Germanic word for soil, ground, and the world itself.

Imitative in origin, echoing a deep, hollow sound; the economic sense of "rapid growth" likely grew out of the idea of things suddenly expanding, as in a loud burst.

From "Goryeo," the name of a dynasty that ruled the region from 918 to 1392.

Traces back through Old English west to a very old Germanic root tied to the word for "evening" — since west is, after all, where the sun goes down.

From Old English suth, from Proto-Germanic *sunthraz, ultimately related to the Proto-Indo-European root for "sun."

From Old English ēast, an ancient word shared across the Germanic languages, ultimately going back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "dawn."

From Old English "norþ," ultimately from a very old Indo-European root meaning roughly "below" or "underneath" — probably because early speakers pictured the sun as being "below" when in the northern sky, or because north lay to the left when facing the rising sun to pray.

From Indonesia plus the suffix -an.