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 Latin "adjudicare," to award judicially, from "ad-" (to) plus "judicare" (to judge).

From Latin "adhaerere," to stick to, from "ad-" (to) plus "haerere" (to cling).

From Latin "acuitas," sharpness, from "acuere" (to sharpen) — the same root as acute.

From "accredit," from French "accréditer," to give credit or authority to, from Latin "credere" (to believe or trust).

From French "accolade," an embrace around the neck, from Latin "ad-" (to) plus "collum" (neck) — originally the ceremonial embrace or touch of a sword given when someone was knighted.

From Latin "abscondere," to hide away, from "abs-" (away) plus "condere" (to stow).

From "abolition," from Latin "abolere" (to destroy or do away with), plus "-ist".

From "able" plus "-ist," on the pattern of racist and sexist; the noun "ableism" and this adjective came into use through disability-rights activism in the late twentieth century.

From Latin "ablatus," carried away, from "auferre" (to remove).

An initialism with two unrelated expansions — "one true pairing" from online fandom, and "one-time password" from computer security.

An initialism of "too long; didn't read," from internet forums, where it began as a complaint and became a label for the summary itself.

A written abbreviation of "of course," from chat and text messaging.

From French "touché," touched — from fencing, called out to acknowledge being hit by an opponent's blade.

From the acronym LARP, live action role play, used as a verb.

From Arabic "mā shāʾa llāh," what God has willed.

From Arabic "ḥabībī," my beloved, from "ḥabīb" (beloved). The form addressed to a woman is "habibti".

From "maiden," an unmarried woman, plus "name" — the name held before marriage.

Coined by the psychologist Dorothy Tennov to name a state she distinguished from both love and ordinary attraction.

An initialism of "computer numerical control," from the numerical-control machine tools of the mid twentieth century, which became computer-driven from the 1970s.

From Old French "assai," a trial or test, related to "essai" (attempt) — the same root that gives English "essay".

From Greek "tropos," a turn or way — a turn of phrase, hence a figure of speech, and later a recurring narrative device.

From Greek "sykophantēs," literally "fig-shower," originally an informer or accuser in Athens. The literal sense is obscure and much debated; the meaning in English settled on flatterer.

From Greek "panakeia," a universal remedy, from "pan-" (all) plus "akos" (cure). Panacea was also the Greek goddess of healing.

From Greek "ontos" (being) plus "logos" (study), via the noun ontology.