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 Middle English halyer, haliere, halere, equivalent to haul + -ier.

From grand- + paw.

From horripilate + -ing.

From god + lore (“learning, study of”). Compare German Gotteslehre, Danish gudelære.

From hyosc(yamus) + -ine.

From Ancient Greek ὕδρωψ (húdrōps), from Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”). Doublet of hydropsy and dropsy.

From home + -ling.

From Hitch + the patronymic suffix -s.

From French hoquet (“hiccup”).

Borrowed from Korean 후배(後輩) (hubae, “junior”). Doublet of kohai.

Borrowed from French gorgerin.

From Middle English heddysman, equivalent to head + -s- + -man. Cognate with Scots hedisman, heidisman (“head man; chief; commander”). Compare also Danish høvedsmand (“captain”), Swedish hövitsman (“captain”), Icelandic höfuðsmaður (“captain”), German Hauptmann (“captain”).

From gun + smith.

Borrowed from Latin ilex (“holm oak”).

From Middle English hot-fot, hot fot, equivalent to hot + foot.

From Medieval Latin hylicus, from Ancient Greek ὑλικός (hulikós, “wooden, material”), from ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē, “wood, matter”) + -ικός (-ikós, “-ic, forming adjectives”). As a noun, a clipped calque of homo hylicus (“hylic man”).

From grog + -ery.

From gold + smithing.

From habituate + -ive.

Borrowed from Italian imbroglio (“tangle, entanglement, muddle”) (im-, alternative form of in- (prefix forming verbs denoting derivation) + broglio (“confusion; intrigue, fraud, rigging, stuffing”); see also imbrogliare (“to tangle”)), cognate with and probably from an earlier form of French embrouiller (“to embroil, muddle”) (em- (“em-”), a form of en- (“en-”, prefix meaning ‘caused’) + brouiller (“to confuse, mix up”)). Doublet of embroil.

From honor + -ific.

From haemo- + -philiac.

From haemato- + -oma.

From a Middle English diminutive of Hugh + -son.