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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Clipping of Kitsilano.

From grand and view.

From Russian solovey, meaning "nightingale."

Named directly after the French Château Lafite Rothschild estate.

Borrowed from Telugu వెంకట్ (veṅkaṭ), from Sanskrit वेङ्कट (veṅkaṭa).

Transliterated from Russian Достоевский (Dostoyevsky).

Transliterated from Russian Достоевский (Dostoyevsky).

From Latin optimus, "best" — popularized by the character Optimus Prime from the Transformers franchise.

Borrowed from Sanskrit anjali, referring to the gesture of pressing the palms together as a sign of greeting or respect.

Variant spelling of Faulks.

From the Old English personal name Wynna + stān (“stone”).

A 20th-century American coinage, derived from twilight.

Scottish Gaelic

From a lost Perthshire settlement named with Scottish Gaelic sgolbach, "thorny place."

Borrowed from Korean 성 (seong).

From French Évelyne.

Two possible origins: * Borrowed from Russian бегу́н (begún, “runner”), a nickname used in the local Jewish community. Doublet of Biegun and Bihun, from Polish and Ukrainian respectively. * A variant of Begum, an Indian surname found in the Muslim community.

Borrowed from Spanish Rigor.

Variant of McLean.

Borrowed from Hindi अरविंद (arvind, “lotus”).

Borrowed from Japanese 平山 (Hirayama), literally "flat mountain."

A compound of camp + town, translating the Korean term gijichon.

Patronymic surname from Ambrose + -son.

From "face time," meaning time spent talking to someone in person or on video.

From bet + -cha. Second sense possibly from bet your rather than bet you.