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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Equivalent to con- + -tort; from Middle English, borrowed from Latin contortus, past participle of contorqueō, from com- + torqueō (“twist, turn”).

From Middle English bitoknen, bitacnen, from Old English betācnian (“to betoken, signify, designate”), from Proto-West Germanic *bitaiknijan. Equivalent to be- + token. Cognate with Dutch betekenen (“to mean, signify”), German bezeichnen (“to call, designate”), Swedish beteckna (“to represent, designate, indicate”) and Danish betegne (“to represent, designate, indicate”).

The verb is first attested in 1538, the adjective in 1541; borrowed from Latin exstirpātus perfect passive participle of exstirpō (“to uproot”), from ex- (“out of”) + stirps (“the lower part of the trunk of a tree, including the roots; the stem, stalk”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)). Doublet of extirp. Common participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

Borrowed from Latin dēplētus (“empty”), from depleō. First attested in 1716; originally a medical term.

From Middle English depraven, from Old French depraver, from Latin dēprāvāre (“pervert, distort, corrupt”), from de- + pravus (“crooked, distorted, perverse, wicked”).

From Middle English hochepoche, a variation of hochepot, from Old French hochepot, from Middle Dutch hutspot (“beef or mutton cut into small pieces and mixed and boiled together in a pot”), from hotsen, hutsen (“to shake; jog; jolt”) + pot (“pot”), equivalent to hotch + pot. Compare German Low German Hüttspott (“hodgepodge”).

From Middle English skyn, skinn, from Old English scinn, from Old Norse skinn (“animal hide”), from Proto-Germanic *skinþą, from Proto-Indo-European *sken- (“to split off”), nasal variant of *skeh₁i-d- (“to cut”). Partially displaced native Old English hȳd (“skin, hide”), from which derives hide. Cognate with Dutch schinde (“bark”), dialectal German Schinde (“fruit peel”); also Breton skant (“scales”), Old Irish cenn (“covering, shell”), Irish scáin (“to tear, burst”), Latin scindō (“to split, divide”), Sanskrit छिनत्ति (chinátti, “to split”).

From Old French contremander, from Medieval Latin contramandō, from contra + mandō (“to order; to command”).

From Middle English forslowen, forslewen (“to neglect”), from Old English forslāwian, forslǣwan (“to be slow, unwilling, delay, put off”), equivalent to for- + slow.

From Middle English lyght hertyd, liȝt-hertid, from light (adjective) + herted, hertid (“having a disposition”, adjective) (equivalent to light + hearted), from the noun herte. See more at light, heart, -ed.

Borrowed from Latin vindicātus, perfect passive participle of vindicō (“lay legal claim to something; set free; protect, avenge, punish”), from vim, accusative singular of vīs (“force, power”), + dīcō (“say; declare, state”). See avenge.

From Latin excōgitāre, from ex- + cōgitāre (“think”).

From passive + -ity.

From farce + -ical, after comical etc.

From Middle English disallowen, desallowen, a borrowing from Anglo-Norman desalouer, Old French desalöer. By surface analysis, dis- + allow.

First attested in c. 1440, as a variant of Middle English ensuren (from Anglo-Norman enseurer, itself from Old French en- + seür (“sure”), probably influenced by Old French asseürer (“to assure”)); took on its particular sense of "make safe against loss by payment of premiums" in 1635, replacing assure. Doublet of ensure.

From Middle English exaltacioun, exaltatioun, from Old French exaltacion and Latin exaltātiō (“exaltation, elevation”), from exaltō (“raise, elevate, exalt”), from ex (“from, out of”) + altus (“high”). By surface analysis, exalt + -ation.

Variant of chirp.

From Latin natēs, plural of natis.

From Ancient Greek φράσις (phrásis, “speech”) + λόγος (lógos, “explanation”).

Borrowed from French légume, from Latin legūmen (“bean”). Doublet of legumen.

From Middle English trameyle, from Old French tramail (“net for catching fish”), from Late Latin tremaculum, from tri- (“tri-”) + macula (“spot, speck; mesh, cell”). Cognate with Italian tramaglio (“trammel”), Spanish trasmallo (“drift net”).

From Middle English midref, mydrif, from Old English midrif, midhrif (“the midriff; diaphragm”), from Proto-West Germanic *middjahrif. Equivalent to mid- + riff.

From man + trap.