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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The royal title is from Amharic nəgus, "king", from a Semitic root meaning "to reign". The drink is a separate word, named after an Englishman called Negus who is traditionally credited with the recipe.

From Greek nekros "dead body" plus manteia "divination", reaching English through Latin and Old French. The medieval Latin form was reshaped as nigromantia, "black divination", which is why the idea of "black magic" attached to the word.

A compound of near and sighted, describing sight that works only at near range.

The last two letters of the word second, written after the numeral.

An initialism; the social-media sense stands for like my recent, the dating sense for last-minute resistance.

An initialism of Latter-day Saints.

An initialism of the exclamation Jesus fucking Christ.

An initialism of in my knowledge.

An initialism of Food and Drug Administration.

From Spanish encanto meaning charm or enchantment, from encantar to enchant, from Latin incantare to chant a spell over.

Plural of elf, from Old English ælf, of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse álfr.

An initialism of Chinese Communist Party.

Plural and third-person singular of carom, shortened from carambole, from Spanish carambola, the name of the red ball in the old billiard game.

An initialism of jerk off instructions.

An initialism of I don't give a fuck.

An abbreviation of handjob, formed on the same pattern as BJ for blowjob.

An initialism of fuck my life.

An initialism of down to fuck.

An initialism of dad I'd like to fuck, formed on the pattern of MILF.

An initialism of cracking the fuck up.

US English, 1910s, blue + balls (“testicles”).

An initialism of big dick energy. Despite the phrase, the quality it names is a manner rather than anything anatomical, and it is applied to people of any gender.

An initialism of big beautiful woman.

An initialism. In the broadcasting sense it stands for British Broadcasting Corporation; in the slang sense it stands for big black cock.