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 discipulus, "pupil, learner," via Old English and Old French — the same root that gives us "discipline."

From providence.

An archaic plural of "brother" that survived in religious and ceremonial English even after "brothers" became the everyday plural.

Inherited from Middle English unto, from Old English *untō, *und tō, equivalent to un- (“against; toward; up to”) + to. Cognate with Old Frisian ont to ("until"; > Saterland Frisian antou (“until”)) (cf. Old Frisian und (“up to; till”), Old Frisian til (“till; to”)), Old Saxon untō, untuo (“until”), Old High German unze, unzi, unza (“until”), Old Norse und (“as far as; up to”), Gothic 𐌿𐌽𐍄𐌴 (untē, “until; as long as”).

From the biblical parable in Luke 10, in which a traveller from Samaria helps an injured stranger that others had ignored.

From the name Judas, the biblical disciple who betrayed Jesus; ultimately from Hebrew Yehuda.

From Middle French pratiser, ultimately from Ancient Greek praktikos, "practical" — the British verb spelling with -ise, kept distinct from the noun "practice".

From "real" plus the suffix "-ise," ultimately tracing back to French réaliser.

From Old French repentance, related to repent.

From real plus -ize ("to make"), echoing French réaliser; real traces back through Old French and Latin rēs, "thing."

From Middle French organiser. By surface analysis, organ + -ise.

From Old French modle, from Latin modulus, arriving in English via Middle English molde.

From "Magdalene" — Mary Magdalene was traditionally shown in art weeping, and her name (via French Madelaine) came to describe anyone tearfully sentimental.

From Latin raptura, "a snatching or carrying off" — the same root that gives us "rapid" and "raptor."

The American English spelling of traveled/travelled.

From Old French damoisele, ultimately from Latin domina ("lady, mistress") — the same root that gave us "dame" and the French demoiselle.

From emphasis, ultimately from Greek emphainein, "to show clearly."

From Old English betweox, from a Germanic root meaning "twofold" — a close relative of "between" and "twin."

From Latin salvatio, "a saving," from salvare, "to save" — from salvus, "safe."

From Ancient Greek hairesis ("choice, school of thought"), via Old French heresie and Latin haeresis.

From Old French defens/defense, from Late Latin dēfēnsa ("protection").

The shaping sense comes from Old French modle, from Latin modulus/modus. The fungus sense has a separate Old English root related to soil.

From Middle French courbe, "curved object," from Latin curvus, "bent, curved" — making it a doublet of "curve."

A British spelling variant of "curb", itself from French courber, "to bend or curve".