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 French furibond (“furious”) and Middle English furybound, furybounde, both borrowed from Latin furibundus (“frantic, frenzied; maddened, raving; inspired”), from furō (“to rave, rage”) + -bundus (suffix forming adjectives with an active or transitive meaning). The further etymology of furō is uncertain; a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“smoke; haze, mist”) has been suggested.

Variant of Gormley.

Minced form of God's hooks, a reference to the nails of the crucifixion of Christ.

From Latin gladiatura.

From gate + crash.

Trade name, from Ancient Greek γάλα (gála, “milk”) + -lith.

Borrowed from Japanese 外人 (gaijin, “foreigner”), from Middle Chinese 外人 (ngwajᴴ nyin). Compare Mandarin 外人 (wàirén), from Old Chinese 外人 (*ŋʷaːds njin, “foreigner, outsider” < “non-relative”), from 外 (wài, “outside, outer”) + 人 (rén, “person”).

From geranium + -ol.

Either from French fritte, from frit (“fried”), or else from Italian fritta f (“fried”).

From a medieval diminutive of the given name Gill.

From Latin frūx (“fruit”) + -vorous.

From Middle English glosatour, from Medieval Latin glōsātor, glossātor, from glōsāre, glōssāre (“to gloss”) + Latin -tor (agent suffix).

From gasp + -er.

From frizz + -le. Cognate with West Frisian frisselje (“to plait, braid”), Old Frisian frisle, fresle (“head of the hair, lock of hair”). More at frizz.

From glosso- + -lalia, from Ancient Greek γλῶσσᾰ (glôssă, “tongue; language”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *glōgʰs) + λᾰλῐᾱ́ (lălĭā́, “talking; form of speech, dialect”) (from λᾰ́λος (lắlos, “talkative”) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns)).

Borrowed from Sanskrit गजानन (gajānana)

From Middle English gilder (“gilder; goldsmith”) [and other forms], from gilden (“to cover with gilding, gild; to decorate with gold”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- (“green, yellow”)) + -er, -ere (suffix forming agent nouns, especially the names of persons engaged in professions or trades); analysable as gild + -er.

Variant of Gilmore, from Scottish Gaelic gille (“servant lad”) + Moire (“Mary mother of Jesus”).

Diminutive of Latin glomus ball.

From gabble + -er.

From glomerulo- + -pathy.

From French globulaire or Medieval Latin globulāris.

Late Middle English, borrowed from Latin fūrunculus (“a petty thief, pilferer; a pointed burning sore, boil”), diminutive of fūr (“a thief”).

From Middle English gilden, gulden, from Old English gyldan (“to gild, to cover with a thin layer of gold”), from Proto-West Germanic *gulþijan, from Proto-Germanic *gulþijaną, from Proto-Germanic *gulþą (“gold”).