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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* (device): From stripe (verb) + -er (agent noun suffix). * (fish): From stripe (noun) + -er (relational suffix). * (military): From stripe (noun) + -er (suffix denoting a person to whom a certain number of something applies).

PIE word *upó From sub- (prefix meaning ‘beneath, under’) + glacial (“of or relating to glaciers; cold and icy; (figurative) very slow”).

From strap + -er, principally strap + -er (agent noun suffix). The sense referring to a poorly producing milk cow (from strap + -er) came from a dialectal sense of the verb strap as a troponym of milk: not even the most skilful milking action could coax enough milk from the udder.

1980's, probably imitative.

From spook + -ish.

From Middle English spelke, from Old English spilc, spelc (“a splint”), from Proto-West Germanic *spelku, from Proto-Germanic *spelkō, *spalkō, *spalkuz (“bast, splint”). Cognate with Old Norse spjalkir (“bars, rails”, plural).

From New Latin stoma, from Ancient Greek στόμα (stóma, “mouth”).

From Latin subductus.

From swan + -ling, formed by analogy with duckling, gosling, etc. Compare German Schwänlein.

Borrowed from Latin Susiana, alternative form of Susianē, from Ancient Greek Σουσιανή (Sousianḗ), from Σουσιανός (Sousianós), from Σοῦσα (Soûsa, “Susa”) + -ιανός (-ianós).

From super- + grass, from grass (“an informer”).

From species + -ose.

Borrowed from Hausa suya.

Late 17th century, of "symbolic" origin, suggested by stuff and podge. Compare stog.

From south + lake. * (Southlake, TX, USA): From being located on the southern coast of Lake Grapevine

From strengthen + -er.

From sunnah + -ite.

From sport + fishing.

Borrowed from Middle French espargier, from Latin spargō (whence English sparse), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pregʰ- (“to scatter, to jerk”).

From Spermophilus from σπέρμα (spérma, “seed”) + φιλέω (philéō, “love”), hence, "seed-lover". This genus formerly included most of the terrestrial squirrels, but all of the North American species have been split off into separate genera.

Possibly from Middle English swale (“a shady place, a shadow”), perhaps of North Germanic origin; akin to Old Norse svalr (“cool, fresh”), Icelandic svalir (“a balcony running along a wall”).

Back-formation from superannuated; Latin super "over" + annus "year"

From Latin sūctus + -ory + -al, from past participle of sūgō (“to suck”).

From suck + -age.