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 lege man; equivalent to liege + -man.

First attested in 1554; borrowed from Latin calumniātus, perfect passive participle of calumnior (“to blame, cavil at; to accuse falsely”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

From brow + beat.

From Latin canticulum, diminutive of cantus (“song”).

From keen + -ness.

From Middle English, perhaps from Old French lobeor (“swindler”), or of Scandinavian origin, compare dialectal Swedish lubber. The grasshopper was likely so called after sense 1 (“a clumsy or lazy person”).

From ascend + -ancy or ascendant + -cy. The use in ecology is due to Robert Ulanowicz.

First attested in 1606; borrowed from Latin lītigātus, perfect passive participle of lītigō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from līs (“a lawsuit”, oblique stem in līt-) + -igō (denominative verb-forming suffix).

From Middle English chive~cyve, from Old French chive~cive, from Latin cēpa (“onion”).

From Middle English avowen, from Old French avouer, from Latin advocare (“to call to, call upon, hence to call as a witness, defender, patron, or advocate”), from ad (“to”) + vocare (“to call”). Doublet of advoke, avouch, and advocate. Not related to vow.

From Latin perspicuus, in turn from perspiciō (“see through”).

From Middle English conjuracioun, from Middle French conjuration, from Old French conjuracion, from Latin coniuratio (“a swearing together, a conspiracy”).

From Middle English contemplatyve, contemplatyf, from Old French contemplatif, from Latin contemplātīvus.

From clothes + horse.

From Middle English inwardnesse; analysable as inward + -ness.

From Old French and Anglo-Norman clamant, present participle of the verb clamer and its variants, from Latin clāmō (“to cry out”), equivalent to claim + -ant. Compare clamant.

From Middle English mildenesse, from Old English mildnes, mildness, equivalent to mild + -ness. Cognate with Old High German miltnissa (“compassion, mercy, sympathy, pity”).

Learned borrowing from Latin flātus (“blowing, wind, fart”). First attested in the 1660s–1670s.

From a Northern England dialectal variant of gnatter (also knatter) ("to chatter, grumble; nibble away at"), ultimately of imitative origin. Cognate with German Low German gnattern (“to mumble, grumble, be grouchy”).

Possibly suggested by fluff and flop. First appeared in the US as a verb c. 1924, and as a noun c. 1953.

From Late Latin ternārius (“consisting of three things”), from ternī (“three each”).

From bloop + -er, of US origin.

From on + look + -er, probably from the verb look on, but compare with onlook.

From Russian тро́йка (trójka, “a group of three”).