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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A fanciful variant of Clara, inspired by names like Annabel, Christabel or Isabel.

From Middle English cothe, from Old English coþu (“disease, sickness, pestilence”), from Proto-Germanic *kuþō.

Of Anglo-Norman origin, ultimately from Old French chesne (“oak”).

From child + minder.

From catch + -ment.

Uncertain, but probably from closet (“private room; outhouse”), possibly compounded with lodge (“building”) and -ie (affectionate diminutive suffix). Or simply onomatopoeic, from the sound of the flushing.

Borrowed from translingual Cirripedia. By surface analysis, cirri- + -ped. Doublet of cirripede.

From Carnivora + -an.

From chiropody + -ist.

First attested in the mid-15th century. From Middle English cynabare, from Old French cinabre, from Latin cinnabaris, from Ancient Greek κιννάβαρι (kinnábari), of unknown origin.

From French célébrant, from Latin celebrāns, present participle of celebrō, equivalent to celebrate + -ant.

From Latin cisterna. Doublet of cistern.

Cichoraceae + -ous

Calque of French pois chiche, from pois (“pea”) + chiche, from Old French cice, from Latin cicer (“chickpea”).

From translingual C + translingual H + translingual N + translingual O + translingual P + translingual S. From the translingual CHNOPS.

Mexican Spanish chingadera.

Borrowed from French céléripède.

Probably from Portuguese charuto (“cigar”), from Tamil சுருட்டு (curuṭṭu, “roll (of tobacco)”).

From Hokkien 衝／冲 (chhiong, “to rush or charge”).

Borrowed from Spanish charro (“cowboy”).

A back-formation from nonchalant, itself from Old French non- + chalant (“concerning, bothering”). By this process, the original Old French participle was coincidentally re-formed.

From Dutch klinkaerd, later klinker, from klinken (“to ring, resound”).

From French cholestérine, from Ancient Greek χολή (kholḗ, “gall, bile”) + στερεός (stereós, “firm, solid”); coined in 1816 by Michel Eugène Chevreul. From originally being discovered by François Poulletier de la Salle in 1769, as a solid in gallstones.

From Middle English champartie, from Middle French champart (“field rent (portion of produce of field paid to feudal lord)”), probably from Latin campī (“fields”) + pars (“part”).