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 Latin Academia, from Greek Akademia — the garden outside Athens named after the hero Akademos, where Plato taught.

From Greek akademikos, referring to Plato's Academy, by way of Latin and French.

From Greek abyssos, "bottomless," from a- ("not") plus byssos ("depth") — describing a gulf so deep it has no floor.

From Latin abundans, the present participle of abundare, "to overflow with."

From Old French abondance, tracing back to Latin abundantia ("overflowing"), from abundare, "to overflow."

From Latin abusus, "misused," from ab- ("away") plus uti ("to use") — literally a "using away" or using something up wrongly.

From Latin absurdus, "out of tune" or "incongruous," formed from ab- ("away from") plus surdus ("deaf, dull-sounding") — related to the word "surd."

From Middle French abstraction or Medieval Latin abstractio, "a separation," based on Latin abstraho, "to draw away."

From Latin absorbeo, "to swallow up," combining ab- ("from") with sorbeo ("to suck in"), from an ancient root meaning "to sip."

From Latin abstractus, "drawn away," the past participle of abstraho, formed from abs- ("away") plus traho ("to pull, draw").

From Old French abstinence, based on Latin abstinentia, from abstineo, "to hold back" — the noun form of "abstain."

From Latin absorbens, the present participle of absorbeo, "to absorb."

From Latin absorptio, "a sucking in," based on absorbeo, "to absorb."

From Latin absolutus, "unrestricted" or "complete," the past participle of absolvo, "to set free" — the same root as "absolve."

From Old French absence, ultimately from Latin absentia, based on absum, "to be away" — from ab ("away from") plus sum ("to be").

From Portuguese português, built from "Portugal" plus "-ese."

Borrowed from Spanish amigo, "friend," from Latin amicus, ultimately from amare, "to love."

From Old English bord, meaning both "plank" and "table." Senses like "meals" and "committee" developed by association with sitting around a table.

From off plus set, built to form the noun version of the phrase "to set off" (in the sense of counterbalancing).

From Middle English Spainish, built from "Spain" plus the suffix "-ish."

From compute + -er. Originally, from the 1600s, it meant a person who computes — the machine sense only took over around the end of the 19th century.

Coined in 1958 by statistician John Tukey, built from soft plus -ware on the model of hardware — the "hard" physical machine versus the "soft," changeable instructions that run on it.

From Latin pollūtus, "defiled" or "unclean," the past participle of polluō, "to soil or dishonor."

From Greek autómatos ("self-moving, acting of its own accord"), via Latin automatum and New Latin automaticus.