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 Old French conjoindre, from Latin coniungo, from con- (“together”) + iungo (“join”). Equivalent to con- + join.

Blend of freshman + sophomore.

From Middle English lithe, from Old English līþe (“gentle, mild”), from Proto-West Germanic *linþ(ī), from Proto-Germanic *linþaz, from Proto-Indo-European *lentos. Akin to Saterland Frisian lied (“thin, skinny, gaunt”), Danish, Dutch, and archaic German lind (“mild”). Some sources also list Latin lenis (“soft”) and/or Latin lentus (“supple”) as possible cognates.

From Middle English loudnesse, lowdenesse, from Old English hlūdnes, equivalent to loud + -ness.

Of obscure origin, perhaps from the name of the Shetland village of Scalloway (from Old Norse Skálavágr), known for its dwarf ponies and dwarf cattle.

First attested in 1657; borrowed from Latin cōnflāgrātus, perfect passive participial of cōnflāgrō (“to be consumed by fire; (rare) to set aflame”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

From Latin instauratio: compare French instauration.

From side + burn.

From Middle English thringen, from Old English þringan (“to press, squeeze, crowd”), from Proto-West Germanic *þringwan, from Proto-Germanic *þrinhwaną (“to press, throng, crush”), from Proto-Indo-European *trenkʷ- (“to beat, hew, press”).

Learned borrowing from Latin recurrō (“to hurry or run back; to return, revert”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘back, backwards’) + currō (“to hasten, hurry; to move, travel; to run”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”)). cognates * Anglo-Norman recurre, recorre (“to have recourse to”) * Catalan recórrer * Italian ricorrer * Old French recourir (Middle French recourir; modern French recourir (“to have recourse to; to run again; to run back”)) * Old Occitan recorre * Portuguese recorrer * Spanish recorrer

From rare + -some.

From New Latin īnfīnītēsimus + -al. Displaced earlier coordinate term fluxion.

Sappho (Ancient Greek Σαπφώ (Sapphṓ)) + -ic, whence Latin Sapphicus. Sense related to sexuality alludes to Sappho's poetry discussing love between women (see also lesbian).

PIE word *pénkʷe From Middle English cynk, from Middle French cinq, from Latin cīnque, variant of quīnque. The archaic spelling cinq is taken from modern French cinq, whereas the standard spelling is perhaps influenced by Italian cinque or a misspelling of the French. The variant pronunciation /sæŋk/ is based on Modern French. Doublet of fin (“five currency units”), finnuf, five, pimp (“five”), ponzu, punch (“beverage”), and sengi (“currency”); related to Pompeii.

From Middle English reven, from Old English rēafian, from Proto-West Germanic *raubōn. Germanic cognates include West Frisian rave, Old English rēaf (“spoils, booty”)), and Old English past participle rofen (“torn, broken”), Norwegian rjuva, German rauben, Danish røve, and Swedish röva. Outside of Germanic, related to Latin rumpō (“to break”), Lithuanian rùpti (“to roughen”), Sanskrit रोपयति (ropayati, “to make suffer”)). See rob and reif.

From Latin arboreus (“tree-like”) + -al, mid-17th century.

From Middle English smothenesse; equivalent to smooth + -ness. Compare Old English smēþnes (“smoothness, a smooth place, a level surface”).

From Middle English abyen, abien, abiggen, from Old English ābyċġan (“to buy; pay for; buy off; requite; recompense; redeem; perform; execute”), from Proto-Germanic *uzbugjaną, equivalent to a- + buy. Cognate with Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌱𐌿𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (usbugjan). Not related to abide.

Via Portuguese and Spanish papaya from Lokono papáia; compare also Kari'na kapaja. Doublet of papaya. Alternatively from Yuchi pahpah.

From Middle French sanctimonie, from Latin sānctimōnia (“sanctity, sacredness; purity, chastity”), from sanctus (“holy”) + -monia (“action or result of an action”).

From Middle French désunion.

Clipping of confabulation, from Middle English confabulacion (“conversation”), from Latin confābulātiōnem, from cōnfābulārī + -tiōnem (suffix forming nouns relating to actions or their results); see further at etymology 2.

The adjective is borrowed from French coïncident, from Medieval Latin coincidentem, an accusative singular form of Latin coincidēns (“coinciding”), the present active participle of coincidō (“to coincide”), from co- (variant of con- (prefix denoting a being or bringing together of several objects)) + incidō (“to fall into any condition”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂d- (“to fall”)). The noun is derived from the adjective.

From Latin convalēscere, from con- (intensive prefix) + valēscere (“to become strong”), inchoative of valēre (“to be strong”).