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 express + -age.

Unadapted borrowing from Latin exactus (literally “precise, acccurate”).

From elm + wood.

From Late Latin episcopatus, from Latin episcopus, from Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos, “watching over”).

From eye + shade.

From eury- + -topic.

From en- + grieve.

Borrowed from French diplomatiste, or from diplomat(ic) + -ist.

Clipping of division.

From dis- + apparent.

From Middle English disseveren, from Anglo-Norman desevrer, Old French dessevrer, from Vulgar Latin *dissēperō, dissēperāre, from Latin dis- + sēparō.

From door + stop.

From dis- + employment.

From drip + -age.

From Middle English dragonet, from Middle French dragonet. By surface analysis, dragon + -et.

From dim. Compare dimbo.

From door + knocker.

From door + post.

From discord + -ian + -ism.

From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Robert.

From dragon + back, after horseback.

Imitative. As a genre of music, coined or popularized by band Blackout Crew in their 2008 song "Put a Donk on it".

From disassemble + -er.

From Old French desconfiture (“rout, defeat”); compare French déconfiture.