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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Traced through Greek and Aramaic back to the Hebrew word ʿiḇrī, likely meaning "one from the other side" (of the river), referring to the ancestors' migration.

From Old French imparfit, from Latin imperfectus; im- + perfect.

From Old English wælisc, originally meaning "foreign" or "Celtic/Roman," derived from the Germanic name for the Celtic and Roman peoples the Anglo-Saxons encountered.

From Latin persona, originally "a mask worn by an actor," later "a character" and then "an individual human being."

Coined in German from Greek planktos, "drifting" — the same root idea as "planet," things that wander or drift.

From Norwegian kril, originally meaning small fry or tiny fish.

From Old French nature, from Latin natura ("birth, constitution, character"), from natus, "born" — the same root that gives us "native" and "nation."

From Old English pytt, from Proto-West Germanic *puti, ultimately from Latin puteus ("trench, pit, well").

From Middle English pippe, tracing back to Latin pituita ("phlegm, mucus"), an unusual detour before it settled on "seed."

From Greek symptoma, "a happening" or "accident," from syn- ("together") + piptein ("to fall").

Borrowed from Hawaiian aloha, "love, affection", from an earlier Polynesian root.

A shortened, back-formed version of "morpheme," ultimately from Greek morphē ("form, shape"); the verb sense arose from computer animation in the 1980s-90s.

From Old French contrefait, from contra- ("against") + facere ("to make") — literally "made in imitation."

Borrowed from German Nickel, shortened from Kupfernickel ("copper-nickel", literally "copper goblin"), because the ore looked like it contained copper but yielded none — miners blamed a mischievous spirit named after Nikolaus (Nicholas).

From Old English peniġ/penning, of uncertain deeper origin; a doublet of the German pfennig.

From Old English Seaxan, ultimately from a Germanic root meaning "knife" — the Saxons were named after the short single-edged blade, the seax, they were known for carrying.

From Old English beon, the infinitive form of "be," which later shifted to serve as its past participle.

From hour + glass.

From Old English wicdæġ, a compound of week and day.

A compound of week and end, originally a Northern English regional term that spread into general use in the late 19th century.

From Old French aage/eage, ultimately from Latin aetatem, related to aevum ("lifetime"). It displaced the native Old English word for age, "ieldu."

From Latin dualis, from duo ("two").

A straightforward compound of "key" and "board" — literally a board fitted with keys.

From Old English non, "the ninth hour," borrowed from Latin nona (hora), "ninth hour" — originally referring to about 3pm, before the meaning shifted to midday.