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 honor, from Latin honor.

From Old French flaour ("smell, odour"), from Latin flare ("to blow"). It originally referred mainly to smell before shifting to mean taste.

From Old English herebeorg ("shelter, lodgings"), from roots meaning "army" and "protection" — literally a safe place for a group to camp.

From Latin favor, "goodwill, support", from favere, "to be kind to, support".

From Latin tumor ("a swelling"), from tumēre ("to swell") — a distant relative of the English word "thumb."

The standard British spelling of endeavor.

From Middle English endeveren, literally "to put oneself in duty" — from in + dever ("duty"), the same root that gives us devoir in French.

From Old English neahgebur, literally "near-dweller," from neah ("near") + gebur ("dweller, farmer").

From Old French armeure, going back to Latin armatura ("equipment, armor"), from arma ("weapons, tools").

From Old French labor and Latin labor, both meaning "work" or "toil."

From Old French rumeur, from Latin rumor, "common talk."

From Old French rumeur, from Latin rumor, "common talk or noise."

From Middle English behavour, formed from "behave" plus a suffix borrowed by analogy from the older word "havour" (meaning possessions or conduct), itself from Old French avoir ("to have").

From Old French colour/color, from Latin color. This American spelling was popularized by Noah Webster to match the Latin root more directly than the British "colour."

From Hindi babu ("clerk, gentleman") plus the honorific suffix -ji, which is added to names or titles across South Asia to show respect.

Translation of Acœmitæ; See watcher.

Borrowed from Hindi चंडी (caṇḍī).

From Hebrew דוב (dov, "bear").

From Sanskrit अभय (abhaya, "fearless").

Borrowed from Sanskrit शकुन्तला (śakuntalā).

From Sanskrit राघव (rāghava), "descendant of Raghu."

From Dutch Stuyvesant.

Created by Finnish author and illustrator Tove Jansson, who introduced the character in a book published in 1945.

Variant of Lucius.