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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Borrowed from French levant (“rising, sun's point of rising”), form of lever (“to rise”), from Latin levō (“to rise”) (cf. also the present participle levāns), from levis (“light, not heavy”).

Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic long-fhada (“galley”, literally “long ship”).

From Yiddish קוועטשן (kvetshn, literally “to squeeze, pinch”), from Middle High German quetschen (“crush, press”).

From localize + -ation; compare French localisation.

Borrowed from Latin lūgubris (“mournful; gloomy”), with the suffix -ious.

From Old Norse hnak (“saddle”) (whence Icelandic hnakkur (“saddle”)).

From Latin Mālāchiās, from Ancient Greek Μαλαχίας (Malakhías), from Hebrew מַלְאָכִי (mal'achi, malʼāḵî, literally “my messenger”), singular form of מַלְאָךְ (mal'akh, “angel; messenger; ambassadors”) with first-person singular personal pronoun as possessor.

From love + bird.

Named after Lothario, a character in the play The Fair Penitent, a reference to a seducer of the same name in the metastory of the Quixote called The Impertinent Curious Man.

From lurk + -some.

From Latin lapsus (“fall”) + -arian (“believer, advocate”); compare English lapse.

From lean (adjective) + -some.

From Middle English lessour, from Anglo-Norman lessour.

Transliteration of Arabic مَنْصُور (manṣūr). Doublet of Mansour.

From lumber + -man.

From Malea + -an.

From lattice + -work.

From loco + -ism.

From lore + -less.

From Middle English macula (“spot on the skin or in the eye”), borrowed from Latin macula (“spot, stain”). Doublet of macchia and macule.

From Middle English merveilously; equivalent to marvellous + -ly.

From lack + wit.

Blend of Latin laevus + -ule + -ose. By surface analysis, lev(us) + -ule + -ose.

From key + ring.