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 Latin exonerātiō. By surface analysis, exonerate + -ion.

The verb is derived from re- (prefix meaning ‘again, anew’) + vamp (“to patch, repair, or refurbish”). The noun is derived from the verb.

From Latin hilaritās (“cheerfulness”), from hilaris (“cheerful”), from Ancient Greek ἱλαρός (hilarós, “cheerful”). By surface analysis, Latin hilar(ō) + -i- + -ty.

The verb is from Middle English overrechen (“to rise above; to extend beyond or over; to encroach; to catch, overtake; to reach; to obtain wrongfully (?); to take up (a book) to revise it”) [and other forms], equivalent to over- + reach; the noun is derived from the verb or from the phrase to reach over.

From Middle English sodden, soden, from Old English soden, ġesoden, from Proto-Germanic *sudanaz, past participle of Proto-Germanic *seuþaną (“to seethe; boil”). Cognate with West Frisian sean, Dutch gezoden (“seethed, boiled”) (related to Dutch zode (“swampy land”)), Low German saden, söddt, German gesotten, Swedish sjuden, Icelandic soðinn. More at seethe.

From Middle English vehemens, vemance, from Old French vëemence, vehemence, from Latin vehementia (“eagerness, strength”), from vehemens (“eager”).

Coined between 1655 and 1665 from Ancient Greek χρόνιος (khrónios, “perennial, long-lasting”); see also chrono- (“time”). Initially Cambridge University slang, in sense of “chum”, as “friend of long standing”, with illegal connotation later. Early spellings included chrony, as in 1665 diary by Samuel Pepys, supporting the Greek origin.

From Italian terzetto, diminutive of Italian terzo (“the third”), from Latin tertius. See tierce.

From Middle English maturacioun, from Middle French maturation, from Latin maturatio. By surface analysis, mature + -ation.

From Late Latin explētīvus (“serving to fill out”), from Latin explētus, the perfect passive participle of expleō (“fill out”), itself from ex (“out, completely”) + *pleō (“fill”).

From outland + -er. In certain uses, influenced by or a calque of the Dutch uitlander or Afrikaans uitlander. Also cognate with German Ausländer, Swedish utlänning and Danish udlænding. Doublet of uitlander.

From oblique stem of Latin germen, germinis (“shoot, sprout, bud”) + -ate, from germinātus (“sprouted, budded, grown”), past participle of germinō (“to sprout, bud, grow”), from germen, germinis (“shoot, sprout, bud”).

From Latin iocularis, from ioculus (“a little jest”), diminutive of iocus (“a jest”).

From hence + from.

From Middle English corporealle, equivalent to Latin corporeus + -al, from corpus (“body”); compare corporal.

Originated in the United States in 1793, as cauvaut, applying to horses, probably from the colloquial intensifying prefix ca-/ka- + vault (“jump, leap”); later generalized. Early sources connect it to cavault, a term for a certain demeanor of horses. Alternatively, a variation of curvet.

Learned borrowing from Latin ērūctātiōnem, accusative of ērūctātiō (“a belching forth, burp”), from ērūctāre (“to belch, burp”). Compare Middle English eructuacioun (“belching, burp”), borrowed from the same root.

Borrowed from Medieval Latin effūsīvus, 1660s.

First attested in 1533; borrowed from Latin obligātus, perfect passive participle of obligō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of oblige, taken through French.

From witty + -icism; coined in the 1670s by John Dryden, by analogy to criticism.

From Middle English souse (“to salt pickle”) also a noun (“liquid for pickling,” “pickled pig parts”), from Old French sous (“preserved in salt”), from Frankish *sultija (“saltwater, brine”), from Proto-Germanic *sultijō (“saltwater, brine”). Cognate with Old Saxon sultia (“saltwater”), Old High German sulza (“brine”).

Borrowed from Latin īnscrībō, from in- (“upon”) and scrībō (“to write”).

Probably from Scots curfuffle, equivalent to ker- + fuffle, or related to Irish cíor thuathail (“confusion, bewilderment”). Similar to modern Welsh cythrwfl (“uproar, trouble, agitation”)

Borrowed from Latin positus, perfect participle of pōnō (“put, place”). Noun sense 3 (type of number format) was coined by American computer scientist and businessman John Gustafson in 2017.