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 Old French grace, from Latin gratia, "favor" or "charm", related to gratus, "pleasing" — the same root as "grateful" and "gratitude".

From Latin propheta, from Greek prophētēs, literally "one who speaks for a god," from pro- ("before") + phēmi ("to speak").

From Greek programma, "a public notice," from pro- ("before") plus grapho ("to write").

From Latin centrum, from Greek kentron.

From Old French bapteme, from Late Latin baptisma, from Greek baptisma ("dipping, immersion"), from baptizein ("to dip in water"). It replaced the native Old English word fulwiht.

From Late Latin resurrectio, from Latin resurgere ("to rise again"), re- + surgere ("to rise").

From French tonne; a doublet of "ton" and "tun."

From Old French redemption, from Latin redemptio, tied to the same root as redeem, \"to buy back.\"

From Hebrew amen, meaning "certainly" or "so be it," passed into English through Greek and Latin Bible translations.

From French manœuvre ("manipulation, maneuver"), ultimately from Latin manu operari, "to work by hand." It shares this root with the English word "manure."

From Hebrew livyathan, a sea monster mentioned in the Bible; philosopher Thomas Hobbes later used "Leviathan" as the title of his 1651 book about the all-powerful state.

A variant of "tun" (a large cask), influenced by Old French tonne.

From Old English smītan, "to smear or strike," related to German schmeißen, "to fling or throw."

From Old English tȳrian/tēorian, "to fail, grow weary," of uncertain deeper origin.

Middle English · 1800

Traces back to a Middle English word related to "attire," describing the wheel's outer covering; the spelling "tyre" became standard in British English during the 1800s.

Old French · 1790

From the same root as "check" — via Old French eschec back to Persian shah ("king"), the word used in chess. "Cheque" is simply the British spelling that split off from "check" in the 1790s, partly by influence of "exchequer."

Traces back through Old French eschec to Arabic and Persian words for "king" used in chess to announce a threatened king — the same root gives us "chess" and "checkmate." The sense of "stop" or "verify" grew out of the idea of halting an opponent's move.

From Latin centrum, itself from Greek kentron ("sharp point, the fixed point of a compass"), from kentein, "to prick or goad".

From Hebrew mashiach ("anointed one"), via Aramaic, Greek, and Latin, into Middle English "Messyas".

From Latin sacramentum, originally a soldier's oath of allegiance, later a sum deposited in a lawsuit — from sacer, "sacred."

From Ecclesiastical Latin communio ("communion, fellowship"), from communis ("common, shared").

From Old English hwanon, related to "when," with an old adverbial ending added.

Coined by British chemist Humphry Davy in 1812, from an earlier form "alumium."

Coined in 1812 as an alternative to "aluminum," built from Latin alumen plus the element-naming suffix "-ium."