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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passive aggressive

A compound of passive and aggressive, describing behaviour that is outwardly passive but aggressive in intent.

From Latin paritas, from par meaning 'equal', via French parité.

From Tamil paṛaiyar, plural of paṛaiyan, literally 'drummer', the name of a low-caste group whose hereditary duty included beating the ceremonial drum (paṛai). Entered English through Portuguese and Anglo-Indian usage.

From Greek para 'beside, alongside' and metron 'measure', by way of modern Latin parametrum in geometry.

From Spanish papi, an affectionate diminutive of papá 'father', and chulo, which in Spanish means both 'cute, attractive' and, in older usage, 'pimp' or 'flashy'.

From Latin palpitare 'to throb, flutter', a frequentative of palpare 'to touch gently, stroke'.

From French palissade, from Provençal palissada, ultimately from Latin palus 'a stake'. The same root gives pale in the sense of a fence stake, as in 'beyond the pale'.

From Greek palindromos 'running back again', from palin 'again, back' and dromos 'a running'.

From oxide, coined in French from Greek oxys 'sharp, acid' and the ending of acide, plus the noun ending -ation. Oxygen was originally named as the supposed acid-forming element.

From out and the verb lie, meaning something lying outside the main body; the geological sense is recorded before the statistical one.

out of the blue

From the image of a bolt of lightning falling from a clear blue sky; the fuller form 'a bolt from the blue' is still used.

An initialism of 'on-target earnings', standard in recruitment advertising.

From Greek osmos 'a pushing, thrusting', with the noun ending -osis; it entered scientific English in the nineteenth century.

From Greek orthos 'straight, correct' and paidion 'child', via French orthopédie. The name reflects the field's origins in correcting skeletal deformities in children.

From French orientation, from orienter 'to set facing east', ultimately from Latin oriens 'the rising sun, the east'. Early churches and maps were aligned eastwards, which gave the word its sense of establishing direction.

From Latin opulentia 'wealth, riches', from opulentus 'rich', related to ops 'power, resources'.

Formed from optimum, the neuter of Latin optimus 'best', with the verb-forming ending -ize.

From opt, via French opter from Latin optare 'to choose', plus the particle out.

A shortening of 'opposition' or 'opponent'. The gang sense spread through Chicago drill music and then UK drill; some users also connect it to 'opposing police', but the shortening from opposition is the straightforward account.

A compound of open and minded, on the pattern of like-minded and narrow-minded.

From Latin opacitas 'shadiness', from opacus 'shaded, dark', by way of French opacité.

A shortening of 'opposite the editorial page', the position such columns traditionally occupied in a printed newspaper. It does not, despite the common assumption, stand for 'opinion editorial'.

An initialism of 'outfit of the day', formed on the same pattern as other social-media hashtags.

one-night stand

Originally theatrical, describing a show booked into a venue for a single night; the sexual sense developed from that image of a single engagement.