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 inhumane + -ness.

From Late Middle English genet, from Old French genet, from Old Catalan genet or Old Spanish ginete (“small fast horse; light horseman”), from Andalusian Arabic زَنَاتِي (zanātī), the Zenati or Zenata Berbers, known as excellent horse breeders. Doublet of Zenati.

Ultimately from Arabic كَفَّار (kaffār, “infidel”) or كَافِر (kāfir, “unbeliever”), both from كَفَرَ (kafara, “to cover, to hide”); in some (especially early) uses, via Spanish cafre, Dutch kaffer or other European languages. Doublet of kafir.

Borrowed from Latin īnsolentia.

From jelly + brain.

From Japanese 狐 (kitsune, “fox”).

Borrowed from Latin interspatium. By surface analysis, inter- + space.

From kirk + -by. From Old Scandinavian / Old Norse kirkja+býr, a village with a church.

From ir- + repentance.

From in- + apprehension.

Borrowed from Middle French irréconciliable, from Late Latin irreconciliābilis, from in- (“not”) + reconciliō (“to reconcile”) + -ābilis (“-able”). By surface analysis, ir- + reconcilable.

Borrowed from Polish kiełbasa (“sausage”), from Proto-Slavic *kъlbasa, which may derive from Proto-Turkic for "grilled cutlet," literally "pressed on ashes," from *kül (“ash”) + *bas (“to press”) (modern Turkish basmak). See the Ukrainian cognate ковбаса́ (kovbasá, “sausage”), whence kubasa, for more information.

From Latin īnflīctiōnem (“imposition”), from Latin īnflīctus, from in- + flīctus, past participle of īnflīgō (“to knock or strike against”), from in- + flīgō (“strike”) (whence in-). By surface analysis, inflict + -ion.

From jakes (“outhouse; lavatory”) + house, to clarify the intended sense.

From irresponsible + -ly or ir- + responsibly.

From kilo- + calorie.

The verb is first attested in 1650, the adjective in 1826; borrowed from Latin īnfuscātus, perfect passive participle of īnfuscō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from in- (“in”) + fuscō (“to make dark”), from fuscus (“dark”).

From Joachim + -ite.

From French intransigeance, noun form of intransigeant, borrowed from Spanish intransigente at the end of the nineteenth century. Morphologically, from in- + transiger + -ant, literally "uncompromising".

Blend of Japan + animation

Variant of Jackson

From Middle French irruption, from Latin irruptiō(n).

From Ancient Greek κίνησις (kínēsis, “movement, motion”), or directly from κινέω (kinéō, “I move, put in motion”).

From Latin iterātiō, from iterō. Morphologically iterate + -ion.