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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April Fools' Day

From April fool, a person tricked on that date; the custom is recorded in Britain from the seventeenth century, but its origin is genuinely unknown and the popular explanations linking it to calendar reform are unverified.

A compound of prank and call, on the pattern of earlier crank call.

A compound of punch, in the sense of a sudden forceful blow, and line, a line of spoken material.

So called because the joke is carried out in practice — in deed rather than in speech — as opposed to a spoken joke.

ZIP is an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, the United States Post Office system introduced in 1963; the capitalisation reflects the acronym.

From 1907 (as reply to thank you).

From Greek xenos, meaning stranger or foreigner, and phobos, meaning fear.

An initialism of the question "What would Jesus do?", popularised by evangelical youth culture through bracelets and other merchandise.

Past tense of write, from Old English writan, originally meaning to scratch or incise.

An initialism, most commonly of Wi-Fi Protected Setup.

A reduplication of "washy", meaning thin or watery, with vowel variation of the kind found in dilly-dally and knick-knack.

From theatrical slang: an under-rehearsed actor learned lines in the wings of the stage, or was prompted from them.

From white plus list, formed by analogy with the older blacklist.

From the white dress shirts traditionally worn by office and clerical staff.

From heck, a euphemistic alteration of hell used to avoid swearing.

From Middle English well knowen. By surface analysis, well + known.

From volunteer, via French volontaire, from Latin voluntarius 'of one's free will'.

From late Latin voluminosus, from volumen 'a roll or scroll'.

From French vis-à-vis, literally 'face to face', from vis 'face'.

From Latin veteranus 'old, experienced', from vetus 'old'.

vested interest

From vested, meaning legally settled or secured, from Latin vestire 'to clothe'.

From Italian venti, meaning 'twenty' — the drink measures twenty fluid ounces.

An initialism of venture capital or venture capitalist.

An initialism of Uniform Resource Locator.