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 Middle French impugner, from Latin impugnō, from im- + pugnō (“fight”), from pugnus (“fist”), as in English pugilism (“fighting with fists, boxing”).

From in- + felicity, from Latin infelicitas.

From bra-ket notation invented by Paul Dirac, from bracket.

Borrowed from French jalousie. Doublet of jealousy.

From jack + fish.

From Middle English innocencie, from Latin innocentia. Doublet of innocence.

From joggle + -ing.

From Latin intercalō, from inter (“among”) + calō (“call out, proclaim”).

From Latin inturgescens, present participle of inturgescere (“to swell up”), equivalent to in- + turgescence. See turgescent.

From keel + -man.

Compare French jurisprudent.

From kerat- + ectasia.

Borrowed from French inceptif, from the Latin inceptīvus, from incipiō (“to begin”).

Borrowed from Arabic الْإِسْكَنْدَر (al-ʔiskandar, “Alexander”). Doublet of Alexander

Borrowed from Middle French incitation.

From Middle English insolible, from Middle French insoluble, from Latin insolūbilis, from in- + solūbilis. Piecewise doublet of insolvable and unsolvable. By surface analysis, in- + soluble.

Borrowed from Hindustani (through Hindi जगन्नाथ (jagannāth) / Urdu جَگَنَّاتھ (jagannāth)) or directly from Odia ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ (jagannātha), ultimately from Sanskrit ज॒ग॒न्ना॒थ (jagannāthá, “lord of universe”) Doublet of juggernaut.

From job + force.

Variant of Isaacs.

From Middle English kerf, kirf, kyrf, from Old English cyrf (“an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument”), from Proto-West Germanic *kurbi, from Proto-Germanic *kurbiz (“a cut; notch; clipping”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to scratch”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Käärf, West Frisian kerf, Swedish korv. Related also to Dutch kerf, German Low German Karve, Karv, German Kerbe.

From French inflexibilité, from Old French inflectibilité. Equivalent to in- + flexibility or inflexible + -ity.

Borrowed from Latin īsagōgē, from Ancient Greek εἰσαγωγή (eisagōgḗ, “lead-in”), from εἰς (eis, “into”) + ἀγωγή (agōgḗ, “to lead”).

From Medieval Latin jactitio, from iactitō (“throw, fling; boast, brag; utter, mention”).

Borrowed from Punjabi ਝਟਕਾ (jhaṭkā, “sudden movement, jerking”) / جَھٹْکا (jhaṭkā). Unrelated to Slovak jatka (“slaugherhouse”) or Polish jatka (“butchershop”).