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 wyncen, from Anglo-Norman winchir (compare Old French guenchir), from Frankish *wankjan, related to *winkijan (“to flex, bend”). See also German winken.

From un- + specific.

From Latin abaliēnātus, perfect passive participle of abaliēnō (“alienate; remove”); from ab- (“by, from; away”) + aliēnō (“alienate, estrange”); from aliēnus (“foreign, alien”), from alius (“other, another”). Equivalent to ab- + alienate.

From un- + smiling.

From acronym + -ization.

From un- + wonted. Redundant in form, as wont is by itself historically the participle adjective. Largely displaced earlier unwont.

From Middle English woonted (“usual, customary”), from wont (“custom, habit, practice”), alteration of wone (“custom, habit, practice”), from Old English wuna (“custom, habit, practice; usual, wonted”), from Proto-Germanic *wunô (“custom, practice”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish, love”). Cognate with Old Frisian wona, wuna (“custom”), Old High German giwona (“custom”). More at wont, wone.

From un- + stated.

From Middle French accoutrer, from Old French acoustrer, from Vulgar Latin acconsūtūrāre (“to equip with clothes”), from Latin ad (“to”) + consūtūra (“sewing, clothes”), from Latin cōnsuō (“to sew together”), from Latin con- (“together”) + suō (“to sew”), first attested in the 1590s.

Learned borrowing from Late Latin acrasia (“lack of temperance”), and from its etymon Ancient Greek ᾰ̓κρᾱσῐ́ᾱ (ăkrāsĭ́ā, “bad mixture”) (see further at acrasia) + English -y (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting conditions, qualities, or states).

From wind + cheater.

From Middle English abce, abcy, abse, apsy, equivalent to A + B + C.

Rare spelling variant of Aaron, also used for women since the end of the 20th century.

From Latin ācris, from ācer (“sharp”); probably assimilated in form to acid. Compare eager.

From Middle English usurpacioun, from Old French usurpacion, from Latin ūsurpātiō; equivalent to usurp + -ation.

From weird + -ie.

From Portuguese abada (“female rhinoceros”), from Malay badak (“rhinoceros”).

From Middle English abime, from Old French abisme from Late Latin *abyssimus, a superlative of abyssus (“bottomless pit”), from Ancient Greek ἄβυσσος (ábussos). Cognate to French abîme. See also abyss.

From water + spout.

From Middle English vestement, vestment, from Old French vestement, from Latin vestīmentum. By surface analysis, vest + -ment. Compare French vêtement.

From accident + -ary.

From wind + storm.

From Middle English abjeccioun, from either Middle French abjection or Late Latin abiectiōn-, from Latin abiectus (“cast down”). * See abject.