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 auto- + noesis, introduced by Endel Tulving.

Compound of bake + shop.

Learned borrowing from Latin Belisama.

Borrowed from Jamaican Creole bangarang.

From barrel + house. Originally used to refer specifically to a bar that served whiskey directly from the barrel.

Transliteration of Hebrew אַבְרָהָם.

From as- + Latin sūmptus + -ive, from past participle of sūmō (“to take”).

From benighted + -ness.

The first sense is either from German Berliner (“native or inhabitant of Berlin”) or formed in English from Berlin + -er. The second sense is from German Berliner (“doughnut”).

From be- (prefix meaning ‘about; abundantly; all around; all over’) + grime (“to cake with dirt”).

Probably from Dutch bazuin (“trumpet”). First attested in the mid 19th c..

From bedroom + -y. First use appears c. 1842. See cite below.

Borrowed from Latin aurīgālis, from aurīga (“charioteer”).

From Middle English befilen, from Old English befȳlan (“to befoul, defile, make dirty”), from Proto-West Germanic *bifūlijan (“to make foul”), equivalent to be- + file. Cognate with Scots befile (“to befile”), West Frisian befûlje (“to dirty”), Dutch bevuilen (“to soil, dirty”), German Low German befulen (“to soil, pollute”). See also defile.

Variant of Bates, from the given name Bartholomew.

From Middle English bidewen, bideawen; equivalent to be- + dew. Cognate with Dutch bedauwen (“to bedew”), German betauen (“to bedew”).

From Italian baritono, from Ancient Greek βαρύτονος (barútonos), from βαρύς (barús, “heavy”) + τόνος (tónos, “tone”). Doublet of baryton and barytone.

From berth + -ing.

From baby + cakes.

From Bartholomew.

Blend of aviation + electronics.

From the genus name.

From bar + -ic. Derived from the Ancient Greek word "pressure": barikos (βαρικός), from βάρος (báros, “weight, pressure”) + -ικός (-ikós, “-ic”).

From being + -less.