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 Italian impassionare. By surface analysis, im- + passion.

From gormandize + -er.

Perhaps from Middle English hehfader, heahfeder, from Old English hēahfæder (“patriarch”, literally “high-father”); or perhaps a direct revival of the Old English word. By surface analysis, high + father.

From hypoxia + -ic or hyp- + ox- + -ic.

From Hispano- + -phile.

Compare French idéologue.

From hool(igan) + -ie (diminutive suffix).

From gust + -ful.

From Middle English housles, from Old English *hūslēas, from Proto-West Germanic *hūslaus, from Proto-Germanic *hūsalausaz, equivalent to house + -less. Cognate with West Frisian húsleas (“houseless”), Dutch huisloos (“houseless”), German hauslos (“houseless”), Danish husløs (“houseless”), Swedish huslös (“houseless”), Icelandic húslaus (“houseless”).

From gorget + -ed.

By surface analysis, illiquid + -ity, or, by surface analysis, il- + liquidity. Regarding the metaphors involved, more at liquidity.

From gossip + monger.

From the genus name.

From Hispano- + -phobia.

Inherited from Middle English heritable, from Anglo-Norman heritable; equivalent to herit + -able.

From human + -ization or humanize + -ation.

From Latin Hīlōta, from Ancient Greek Εἵλωτες (Heílōtes), possibly from ἁλίσκομαι (halískomai, “to be captured, to be made prisoner”) or from Ἕλος (Hélos, “Elos”), a Laconian town.

From hiero- + -cracy.

From humane + -ness. Piecewise doublet of humanness.

From Latin hyalinus, from Koine Greek ὑάλινος (huálinos), from ὕαλος (húalos, “glass”).

From Hewitt + -son.

From im- + perspicuous.

From French houri, from Persian حوری (hurî), from Arabic حُورِيّ (ḥūriyy) and Arabic حُورِيَّة (ḥūriyya), adjective and feminine singulative of حُور (ḥūr) from Classical Arabic حُورٌ عِينٌ (ḥūrun ʕīnun, “fair maidens, black-eyed ones”). See أَحْوَر m (ʔaḥwar), حَوْرَاء f (ḥawrāʔ) for the base adjective.

From green + back.