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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Latin for 'something for something'. It originally referred to substituting one medicine for another, and later came to mean an equivalent given in exchange.

A fatalistic tag in Romance-language form, meaning 'what will be, will be'; it is not grammatical modern Spanish, Italian or French. It circulated in English as a motto well before the 1956 song 'Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)', which made it a household phrase.

From Latin qualitas 'quality', formed from qualis 'of what kind'.

An initialism of quod erat demonstrandum, 'which was to be demonstrated', itself a translation of the formula used by Greek mathematicians such as Euclid.

The victory sense is from Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, whose armies beat the Romans at Heraclea and Asculum in the 3rd century BC at losses so severe the wins ruined him. The metrical foot is a separate word, from Greek pyrrhiche, an ancient war dance, and has no connection to Pyrrhus.

Named for the purple heart-shaped badge of merit instituted by George Washington during the American Revolutionary War, revived as the modern decoration in 1932.

From Latin pulmo "lung" combined with the Greek-derived ending -ologist "one who studies".

From psycho-, from Greek psukhe "mind, soul", combined with social, from Latin socialis "of companionship".

An initialism of public service announcement.

An abbreviation of Latin post scriptum, "written after".

From French protégé, past participle of protéger "to protect", from Latin protegere "to cover in front".

From Latin propitiatio, from propitiare "to appease, make favourable", from propitius "favourable".

From Latin pronomen, from pro "in place of" + nomen "name", modelled on the Greek grammatical term.

From Latin pro forma, "for the sake of form".

From Latin procrastinare "to put off until tomorrow", from pro- "forward" + cras "tomorrow".

Past participle of prorate, coined from the Latin phrase pro rata "according to the rate".

From prorate, formed from the Latin phrase pro rata "according to the rate".

From Latin pro rata parte, "according to the calculated share".

Short for Latin pro bono publico, "for the public good".

From Italian prima donna, literally "first lady", the term for the leading female singer in an opera company.

Latin prima facie, literally "at first face", meaning at first appearance.

Present participle of prevent, from Latin praevenire "to come before, anticipate", from prae- "before" + venire "to come".

A blend of the prefix pre- "before" and sequel.

From Latin praepositio "a placing before", from praeponere "to put in front", from prae- "before" + ponere "to place".