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 blessedly, blessidly, blestly. By surface analysis, blessed + -ly.

From Old English clǣnnes, corresponding to clean + -ness.

From Middle English endelesnesse, from Old English endelēasnes; equivalent to endless + -ness.

From the stem of Classical Latin bōs + -id, after taxonomic name Bovidae. By surface analysis, an appellativization from Bovid(ae) minus -ae (a pattern that recurs with many -idae names).

From Middle English draperie, from Old French draperie, from drap (“drape, sheet, large cloth”), ultimately of Germanic origin.

From Latin assevērāre, from assevērō (“to assert”).

Back-formation from fellatio on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix), from Latin fellō (“suck”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suck, to suckle”).

Inherited from Middle English conglutinaten (“(of a wound, broken bone, etc.) to knit, close up; to fasten; (figurative) to unite”), from conglutinat(e) (used as the past participle of conglutinaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Latin conglūtinātus, the perfect passive participle of conglūtinō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Compare French conglutiner.

Earlier filbert-nut, Philibert-nut, from Middle English filbert-note, from Anglo-Norman noix de filbert, so named because they are ripe near Saint Philibert’s Day.

From Middle French conciliation.

From Eric + -son.

Clipping of buttered sandwich or bun + -y. Compare Saterland Frisian Buutje (“buttered bread (sandwich)”).

From bug + -ish.

The verb is probably from Middle English *flostren (implied in flostring, flostrynge (“agitation; blustering”)) from a Scandinavian (North Germanic) language; compare Icelandic flaustra (“to bustle”), flaustr (“a bustle; a hurry”). Compare Old English flustrian (“to weave, plait, braid”). The noun is derived from the verb.

From Middle English forefader, forfader, vorvader, from Old English forefæder (“forefather”), but possibly also merged with Old Norse forfaðir. Equivalent to fore- + father. Compare Dutch voorvader (“forefather”), German Vorvater, Vorfahr (“forefather”), Danish forfader (“forefather”), Swedish förfader (“forefather”).

Borrowed from French billon, from Old French bille (“stick of wood”).

From gloss + -less.

From bat + crap, as a euphemism for batshit.

Borrowed from French fabuliste. By surface analysis, fable + -ist, or, by surface analysis, fabula + -ist. Compare fabular.

From condense + -ate (noun-forming suffix). Alternatively, back-formation from condensation.

From French engorger, from Old French engorgier. Archaic spellings from Webster’s dictionary 1913 include ingorge and ingorg, both now considered misspellings.

First attested in 1531; borrowed from Latin dēpopulātus, perfect active participle of dēpopulor (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)). Compare depeople, French dépeupler, Italian spopolare, Spanish despoblar, Portuguese despovoar and Romanian despopora; by surface analysis, de- + populate. Participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

From ball + point.

From Middle English asshen, aisshen, esscen, from Old English æsċen (“made of ashwood”), equivalent to ash + -en (“made or consisting of”). Cognate with Scots aschin, eschin (“ashen”).