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.

Browse etymology by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Recently added

Borrowed from Spanish llanero, from llano.

From Latin Lemuria.

From lay (“meadow”) + land.

From Latin lexis, from Ancient Greek λέξις (léxis, “word”) + -eme, a suffix indicating a fundamental unit in some aspect of linguistic structure, on the model of phoneme.

From macro- (“large scale”) + economics. The first published use of the term was by the Norwegian economist Ragnar Frisch (1895–1973) in 1933.

From Late Latin magisterialis, from Latin magisterium.

Borrowed from Latin Lacōnia.

Attested from 1700s. Learned borrowing from Latin malefit, modeled on benefit. Equivalent to French malfaire.

From Middle English lempet, from Old English lempedu (“lamprey”), borrowed from Medieval Latin lampreda, alteration of Late Latin lampetra (“lamprey”), whose further origin is unknown, though is traditionally thought to derive from lambō (“to lick, lap”) + petra (“stone, rock”). Doublet of lamprey, which came through Old French.

From locate + -er.

From Late Latin mammona (“wealth”), from Hellenistic Ancient Greek μαμωνᾶς (mamōnâs), from Aramaic מָמוֹנָא (māmōnā, “money, wealth”). Compare Hebrew מָמוֹן (mamón, “money”).

From Middle English maide servant; equivalent to maid + servant.

From Lotharingia, named for Lothair II, who ruled it. Compare Lorraine, German Lothringen.

From Middle English lithsum, equivalent to lithe + -some. Doublet of lissom.

From Polish krawiec (“tailor”), Slovak kravec (“tailor”), Belarusian кравец (kravjec, “tailor”), or Ukrainian кравець (kravecʹ, “tailor”). Ultimately from Proto-Slavic *kravьcь.

From Old French mangonel, from Latin manganellus, manganum, from Ancient Greek μάγγανον (mánganon).

From Old French Lyons (nominative of Lyon), from the Roman name, Latin Lugdūnum (“fort of Lug”), named after Lugus, a Celtic deity, from Proto-Celtic *Lugus.

Borrowed from New Latin mastoīdēs, from Ancient Greek μᾰστοειδής (măstoeidḗs, “like a breast”), from μᾰστός (măstós, “a woman's breast”) + -ειδής (-eidḗs, “-like, -oid”).

From knob + -er; the deer sense derives from the fact that a young buck's antlers begin diminutively as mere knobs; the fool sense derives indirectly from a reference to the penis; the two senses are ultimately cognate.

From lone + -ness.

From Middle English macer, from Anglo-Norman macer, from mace (“mace”).

From make + weight.

From German Leitmotiv (“leading motif”), from leiten (“to lead”) + Motiv (“motif”), originally used to describe Wagnerian opera. The spelling was influenced by motif.

From lore + master, possibly a learned borrowing from Middle English or calque of Middle English lore maistir (“teacher of knowledge”).