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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 eradicate + -or.

From felicitate + -ion.

From devout (adjective) + -ful.

From Late Latin explānātōrius, from Latin explānāt-, past-participle stem of explānāre (“to explain”). Displaced Old English ġereclīċ.

From belly + load.

From dally + -er.

From Middle English fordon, from Old English fordōn (“to undo, bring to naught, ruin, destroy, abolish, kill, corrupt, seduce, defile”), from Proto-West Germanic *fradōn (“to ruin, destroy”), equivalent to for- + do. Cognate with Saterland Frisian ferdwo (“to waste, consume”), West Frisian ferdwaan (“to waste”), Dutch verdoen (“to kill, waste”), German Low German verdoon (“to waste, consume”), German vertun (“to waste, spend, consume”).

From babble + mouth.

From Latin cēnsōrius + -al. By surface analysis, censor + -ial.

From Middle English familierly, equivalent to familiar + -ly.

Corruption of bludgeoner.

From French complaisant (“willing to please”), from complaire, from Latin complacēre (“please well”), from com- (“with”) + placeō (“please”).

From Middle English forsothe, forsoþe, for sothe, from Old English for sōþ (“truly, for certain, forsooth”), equivalent to for (“for, by”) + sooth (“truth”).

From Middle English corrōden, that borrowed from Old French corroder or directly from Latin corrōdere (“to gnaw”), from con- (“completely”) + rōdere (“to gnaw”).

From Middle English bifolen, equivalent to be- + fool.

From Latin encōmium (“praise, eulogy”), from Ancient Greek ἐγκώμιον (enkṓmion, “laudatory ode, praise”), from ἐγκώμιος (enkṓmios, “of or pertaining to the victor”), from κῶμος (kômos, “festival, revel, ode”).

From Latin edā(c) (“gluttonous, greedy”) (from edō (“to eat”)) + -ious (adjectival suffix).

From Anglo-Norman debarrer.

Uncertain; occurring since 16th century in northern and north midlands British dialects; etymologically related to boggle, bogle, and obsolete bog (“a bugbear”); the first element perhaps ultimately a variant of bug (“goblin; terrifying thing; etc.”), and thus equivalent to bog + -ard (“augmentative suffix”).

Derivative of 17th-century vernacular bam (“to trick, to con”), which is a derivative of bam in noun use (fraudster, cheat). Possibly from French embobiner.

From a- + social; in the sense of “antisocial” and as a noun, appears to be a calque of German asozial / Asozialer.

First attested in 1641; borrowed from Latin connātus, perfect active participle of connāscor (“to be born together (with)”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from con- + nāscor. Doublet of cognate.

Borrowed from Latin fugācius (whence -acious), comparative of fugāciter (“evasively, fleetingly”), from fugāx (“transitory, fleeting”), from fugiō (“to flee”).

From copulate + -or.