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 Old English Īrland, from Īras ("Irishmen") plus land, ultimately tracing back to Old Irish Ériu, the native name for the island.

Coined around 1850 by combining Greek Indos ("Indian") and nesos ("island") — literally "Indian islands."

From Old English Hungerie, via Medieval Latin Hungaria.

From a Taíno word meaning "land of high mountains," the name the island's original inhabitants used for Hispaniola.

From Spanish honduras ("depths"), said to refer to the deep waters off the country's northern coast.

From Spanish, ultimately from a Nahuatl word roughly meaning "place of the woodpile," originally the name of an earlier capital.

From Greek epidemios, "among the people," from epi- ("upon") plus demos ("people").

Named after the historic Ghana Empire, chosen by scholar J. B. Danquah when the country gained independence, though the modern nation lies south of the old empire's territory.

From Old French desaise, literally "lack of ease" — built from des- ("dis-") plus aise ("ease"). The word originally meant discomfort in general before narrowing to mean illness.

From Old English blod, going back to a Proto-Germanic root possibly meaning "that which bursts out" — related to the idea of swelling or gushing.

From Latin Aethiopia, from Ancient Greek Aithiopía. The name displaced the Old English term for the region, which literally meant \"land of the sun worshippers.\"

From Middle English Spayne, from Anglo-Norman Espayne, ultimately from Latin Hispania.

From Spanish Ecuador, meaning "equator" — the country takes its name from the equatorial line that crosses it.

From Old English fals, from Latin falsus ("deceived, counterfeit"), the past participle of fallere ("to deceive").

From Greek pseudonymos, "falsely named" — from pseudes ("false") and onoma ("name").

From politic + -al.

From Old French "secte," from Late Latin "secta" ("a school of thought, faction"), possibly from Latin "sequi" ("to follow").

From Danish Danmark, combining dansk ("Danish") with an Old Norse word for border or borderland.

From Latin Cyprus, from Greek Kupros, the ancient name of the island — also the source of the word "copper," which the Romans mined there.

Borrowed from Spanish Cuba, itself from the Taino language, the language of the island's indigenous inhabitants before European contact.

Named after the explorer Christopher Columbus (Cristoforo Colombo).

The tableware sense comes from the country name China, since fine porcelain was long associated with Chinese manufacture.

Portuguese · 1400

From Portuguese Rio dos Camarões ("river of prawns"), named by 15th-century Portuguese sailors for the shrimp abundant in the Wouri river estuary.

Borrowed from Spanish Chile, possibly from a Quechua word meaning "cold."