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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Compound of so + far. Compare Dutch zo ver.

From Old English snōd, a band or ribbon for the hair.

A deliberate misspelling of small, part of a wider internet style that respells words for affectionate effect.

An initialism of single-lens reflex.

significant other

Originally a term from social psychology for any person whose opinion strongly shapes one's sense of self, later narrowed in everyday use to a romantic partner.

From short list, a list cut down to a manageable length.

From the phrase to come short, meaning to fall short of a standard.

A compound of short and sighted, first describing limited physical vision and later extended to limited foresight.

From a common format for specifying feminine pronouns in online profiles.

The slang senses extend the ordinary verb serve, from the idea of presenting something to someone; the look-based sense is associated with American ballroom and drag culture.

A compound of self and righteous, meaning righteous in one's own estimation.

From self- + loathing.

From Spanish acabar, meaning to finish or end, with the reflexive se and the past tense form acabó, so literally it finished itself.

An initialism, most commonly of safety data sheet.

From Latin scrutari, meaning to search or examine, itself from scruta, meaning rubbish or old rags, from the idea of rummaging through them.

Attested since the end of the 18th century. Origin unknown. In one of the earliest mentions, "The Statistical Account of Scotland", 1793, by John Sinclair, page 593, we read in a paragraph devoted to weavers: "Besides these, they are now much employed in working a thin kind of coarse linen called Silesias, vulgarly Scrims, whereof each piece is 27 or 30 inches broad".

From French sauté, the past participle of sauter, meaning to jump, because the food is tossed and made to jump in the pan.

Scottish Gaelic

From Scottish Gaelic Sasannach, meaning Saxon or English, from the same root as Saxon.

salt of the earth

Hebrew and Greek, via the Bible

From the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:13, where Jesus tells his followers they are the salt of the earth. Salt was valued as a preservative and seasoning, so the phrase praised them as what keeps the world wholesome.

Conjunction of safe (“not in danger”) and sound (“intact, healthy”). Compare with Old French sauf et sain.

An initialism of sadism and masochism, the two halves of sadomasochism.

An abbreviation of Latin recipe, 'take', the traditional opening word of a prescription instructing the pharmacist to take the listed ingredients. The stroke across the R's leg is a scribal abbreviation mark.

From round (“complete, entire"; "forming a circle or cycle”) + trip (“journey”).

An initialism of Reserve Officers' Training Corps.