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 lightless (adjective) + -ness (suffix forming nouns).

Borrowed from Irish Lugh, from Old Irish Lug, from Primitive Irish ᚂᚒᚌᚐ (luga), from Proto-Celtic *Lugus.

From Arabic المَرْج (al-Marj), from ال (al-, “the, place of the”) + مَرْج (marj, “meadow”).

From German Luft (“air”). Doublet of lift and loft.

From lace + -work.

From Knickerbocker + -s, after the short breeches worn by Diedrich Knickerbocker in George Cruikshank's illustrations of Washington Irving's 1809 A History of New York.

From long + -y.

From French mariette, properly a diminutive of Marie (“Mary”).

From knife + point.

From land + race, probably a calque of German Landrasse.

From Ancient Greek λέγω (légō) + -τικός (-tikós).

From French Marcelline.

From material (adjective and noun) + -ity, perhaps modelled on Latin māteriālitās.

From Latin lūm(en) (“light”) + -ic.

From lady + -ish.

From Middle French matelot (“sailor”). Compare Dutch matroos and German Matrose. Doublet of matross.

From mark + -worthy. Compare German merkwürdig (“strange, odd”).

From Latin lībātiō, from lībāre (“to take a little from anything, to taste, to pour out as an offering”).

Borrowed from Sanskrit लम्बोदर (lambodara, “potbellied”); ultimately from लम्ब (lamba) + उदर (udara)

From German Mangold (“chard”) + Wurzel (“root”), with the first part reinterpreted as Mangel, whence the archaic English name "root of scarcity".

From Portuguese marimba, via a Bantu source, perhaps Kimbundu marimba (“xylophone”).

lightheadedness

From light-headed (adjective) (any sense) + -ness (suffix forming nouns).

From Spanish loco (“mad, insane”) + weed.