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 Iānus (“two-headed god”) + -ceps (“headed”).

From jerk + -ball.

From in- + solvable. Piecewise doublet of insoluble and unsolvable.

Borrowed from Latin iuvenilitas. By surface analysis, juvenile + -ity.

From jug + -ful.

From German Internist, corresponding to intern (“internal”) + -ist.

For Australian fish such as Argyrosomus species, jewel and fish; see jewie. For New World species, from 17th century Jamaican English and refers to the kosher status of the Atlantic goliath grouper from at least 1697 onwards, likely as a derogatory term despite Jamaican Jews being treated better in the rule of the English than the Spanish rule.

interventionism

From French interventionnisme. By surface analysis, intervention + -ism.

Borrowed from Latin inceptor.

From French kaolin, François Xavier d'Entrecolles's irregular romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 高嶺土 /高岭土 (gāolǐngtǔ, “Gaoling earth”), from 高嶺 /高岭 (Gāolǐng, “High Ridge”), a village in Fuliang County, Jingdezhen Prefecture, Jiangxi Province, that became Jingdezhen's primary source of this kind of clay during the early to mid-Qing dynasty.

From jab + -ee.

From ir- + relation.

From innovate + -ory.

From New Latin Japō̆nia, also spelled Iapō̆nia, through Japon + -ia.

From iodo- + -ous.

From the initials of the company founder, Joseph Cyril Bamford.

20th-century blend of Janice + Vanessa.

Unknown. Compare duck (“to lower the head or body”) or jink (“to make an evasive turn”). Attested since the 16th century.

From king + -like.

From jolly + -fy.

From French insouciant, from in- (“not”, prefix) + souciant (“worrying”), 1828.

Borrowed from Latin iēiūnus (“fasting”).

Blend of inner + understanding.

From Islam + -dom, apparently by analogy with Christendom and Hindudom.