English dictionary, thesaurus, translations & etymology
FreeDict.com
Login Flashcards

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.

Browse etymology by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Recently added

idiosyncrasy
Greek
From Greek idios meaning 'own' or 'private' and synkrasis meaning 'mixture' or 'temperament'.
ideation
Latin
Formed from idea, ultimately from Greek idea meaning 'form' or 'notion', plus the noun ending -ation.
IDC
English
An initialism of the phrase I don't care.
ICU
English
An initialism of intensive care unit.
ICL
English
An initialism of the phrase I can't lie.
I plead the Fifth
English
From the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which protects a person from being forced to give evidence against themselves.
I owe you
English
The noun IOU is a spelling of the spoken phrase I owe you using the sounds of the three letters.
hygge
Danish
A Danish word, related to Norwegian hygge meaning wellbeing or comfort.
humus
Latin
From Latin humus meaning 'earth' or 'ground'.
humor
Latin
From Latin humor meaning 'moisture' or 'fluid', through the medieval theory that four bodily fluids governed a person's temperament.
humanism
Latin
Formed from Latin humanus meaning 'human', by way of humanist, a term for a scholar of classical letters.
homozygous
Greek
From Greek homos meaning 'same' and zygotos meaning 'yoked together'.
homophone
Greek
From Greek homos meaning 'same' and phone meaning 'sound'.
homogeneous
Greek
From Greek homos meaning 'same' and genos meaning 'kind' or 'race'.
homeostasis
Greek
From Greek homoios meaning 'similar' and stasis meaning 'standing still'.
holy grail
Old French
Grail comes from Old French graal, meaning a dish or bowl, used in medieval romance for the sacred vessel sought by King Arthur's knights.
HMU
English
An initialism of the phrase hit me up.
histrionic
Latin
From Latin histrionicus, from histrio meaning 'actor', so literally 'of the stage'.
himbo
English
A blend of him and bimbo.
high-maintenance
Origin
According to the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, the figurative sense was popularized by the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally....
heuristic
Greek
From Greek heuriskein 'to find, discover', the same root as eureka.
heterozygous
Greek
From Greek heteros 'different' and zygotos 'yoked together', from zygon 'yoke'.
heterogeneous
Greek
From Greek heteros 'other, different' and genos 'kind, race'.
herbivore
Latin
From Latin herba 'grass, plant' and vorare 'to devour'.