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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From Greek metastasis 'a change of position, removal', from methistanai 'to change, transfer'.

From Greek metallon 'metal, mine' plus -ourgia 'working', via modern Latin metallurgia.

From Greek meta 'beyond, about' plus data, the plural of Latin datum 'something given'.

From Greek meta 'beyond, about' plus Latin cognitio 'knowing', from cognoscere 'to get to know'.

From Latin meritum 'that which is deserved' plus -cracy, from Greek -kratia 'rule, power'. The word was coined in English in the mid-20th century.

From Latin mercurialis 'of Mercury', the Roman god of commerce and messages, whose swiftness gave the word its sense of quickness and changeability.

From Greek melas, melan- 'black', with the chemical suffix -in.

From Greek meiosis 'a lessening', from meioun 'to make smaller'.

From Latin mea culpa 'through my own fault', from the Confiteor prayer of the Roman rite.

An initialism of Latin Medicinae Doctor, 'teacher of medicine'.

An initialism of megabyte, from the prefix mega- (Greek megas 'great') plus byte.

From Latin maritalis 'of marriage', from maritus 'husband', plus status 'condition, standing'.

A blend of man and explaining, formed in the early 21st century.

From Mandinka, the people's own name, by way of Portuguese and French traders' renderings.

From the verb make plus sense in its older meaning of 'meaning' or 'intelligibility'.

From Old French maintenance, from maintenir "to maintain", ultimately from Latin manu tenere, "to hold in the hand".

From Latin magnum opus, literally "great work".

A contraction of madam, which came into English from Old French ma dame, "my lady".

From French luxe, meaning "luxury", from Latin luxus "extravagance, excess".

From the name Ned Ludd, a figure invoked (and probably legendary) as the leader of the English machine-breakers of the 1810s.

An abbreviation of "limited", short for limited liability.

From low + key.

A compound of love and language, popularised by relationship self-help writing in the late twentieth century.

An initialism; the senses expand to "leave of absence", "length overall" and "letter of authority" respectively.