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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Uncertain. Many dictionaries suggest a connection with Dutch larpen (“to thresh with flails”).

From Middle English leveful, equivalent to leave (“permission”) + -ful.

From land + slip.

From legit + -ness.

From late + comer.

Blend of make + takeaway.

Learned borrowing from Latin lentīgo. Earliest attestation as Late Middle English lentigines (plural).

From marred + -ness.

From Middle English lyverwort, liverwort, from Old English liferwyrt, equivalent to liver + wort, from the belief that some species looked like livers and were useful for treating the liver medicinally.

From lament + -ful.

From malfeasance, after such pairs as assistance, assistant, or adapted from French malfaisant.

From Middle English mersshy, mershi, equivalent to marsh + -y.

From Middle English lode (“journey, course”) + star, where lode is an archaic noun from the verb lithe (“to go, journey”), related to lead. Other Middle English spellings include: 14th century loode sterre, lood-sterre, lade-sterne; and 15th century lode sterre. Cognate with Old Norse leiðarstjarna, Dutch leidster, German Leitstern, Danish ledestjerne, Swedish ledstjärna.

From large + -ish.

Borrowed from Ancient Greek κυβερνήτης (kubernḗtēs, “captain, steersman”).

From Hindustani مہارانی / महारानी (mahārānī), from Sanskrit महा (mahā, “great”) and राज्ञी (rājñī, “queen”).

From legate + -ship.

From liberal + -ise.

From Middle English *mast-roop, *mastrap, from Old English mæstrāp (“mastrope”), equivalent to mast + rope.

From a phonetic spelling of love + -y; in the second sense, because this (as a term for darling or sweetheart) is perceived as a common utterance of thespians.

Probably from Northern Sami lávvu, ultimately from Proto-Samic *lāvō.

From Latin locātīvus, from locus. In Indian English, by surface analysis, locate + -ive.

American railroad term that described one of two positions of the ball of a ball signal. Compare highball.