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 abscessus, "a going away" — originally describing how infected matter was thought to "withdraw" and collect in one spot, from abscedo, "to go away."

Formed from abrupt plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

From Latin abruptus, "broken off," the past participle of abrumpo — formed from ab ("away") plus rumpo ("to break"), the same root as "rupture" and "erupt."

From Middle English abrood, combining a- ("on") with brood ("broad") — originally meaning simply "widely scattered."

From Middle English abrest, formed from a- ("at") plus breast — originally describing people standing "breast to breast," equally level with one another.

Borrowed from Medieval Latin abrasivus, built on the same root as "abrasion" and "abrade."

From Latin abrasio, "a scraping," rooted in abrado, "to scrape off" — the same source as the verb "abrade."

Borrowed straight from Late Latin abracadabra, a word whose earlier origins are murky, historically believed to carry protective magical power when written or spoken.

From Old English abufan, joining on ("on") and bufan ("over") — a Germanic compound related to Dutch boven and German oben.

From Old English onbutan, a fusion of on and butan ("outside of"), which itself combines be ("by") and utan ("outside") — so, quite literally, "by the outside."

From Old French abonder, tracing back to Latin abundare, "to overflow" — literally from unda, "a wave," the same root behind "abundant" and "inundate."

From Latin abortio, "miscarriage," built from the verb aborior, "to fail to be born" or "to miscarry" — the same root gives us "abort."

From abort + the adjective-forming suffix -ed.

From Latin abortus, past participle of aboriri, "to fail to be born," from ab- ("away, amiss") + oriri ("to arise, be born").

From Latin abominatio, "an abomination, detestation" — see abominable.

From Old French abominable, from Latin abominari, "to regard as an ill omen," from ab- + omen. Some writers used to spell it "abhominable," wrongly assuming it came from Latin homo ("man") — hence Shakespeare's joke about actors acting "abominably."

From Latin abolitio, from abolere ("to destroy, do away with") — see abolish.

From Middle French abolir, from Latin abolere, "to destroy, wipe out."

From Old English abad, related to abidan ("to abide, remain") — an abode is literally a place where you "abide."

From Middle English abord, from a- ("on") + bord ("side of a ship, board").

From abnormal + the noun-forming suffix -ity.

From ab- ("away from") + normal, itself from Latin norma ("rule, pattern").

From Old French able/habile, from Latin habilis, "easily handled, fit, skillful," from habere ("to have, hold").

From a- ("on, in") + blaze ("flame").