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 German Heisenberg.

Possibly derived from the word star.

Shortened from Mary, Margaret, or other names.

From German Goebbels.

From the given name Mariel, itself formed from Mary plus the suffix -el.

From Old French gendre, "son-in-law," with an added patronymic "-s."

From Jean + -ette or misspelling of French Jeannette, from Jeanne + -ette, q.v. Originally chiefly Scottish. Doublet of Janet, Jeannette, Juanita, Shanae, and Sinead.

Borrowed from Gabrielino-Fernandeño Topaa'nga. "Topaa'-" is possibly from Chumash + Tongva suffix -nga meaning ‘place of,’ forming proper nouns.

From Elmer Fudd, the bumbling hunter character in Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes cartoons.

Borrowed from Japanese 菅 (Suga) or すが (Suga).

Traced to several unrelated sources, including Polish and Czech short forms of personal names, and a Spanish or Mayan-influenced surname.

From Scottish Gaelic MhicFhionghain, from Fhionghain (“Fingon”).

In most cases, the name is a diminutive of Beatrice.

Borrowed from Sanskrit विश्वामित्र (vishvamitra).

From Japanese "Nissan," a shortening of "Nihon Sangyō," literally "Japan Industries."

From dish plus the agent suffix -er.

Named after Hermann Rorschach, the Swiss psychiatrist who developed the inkblot test in 1921.

A clipped, informal form of names like Oswald, Oscar, or Osbourne, plus "-y."

From a Breton name also appearing in various forms in French Judicaël, Gicquel, Jézéquel, etc., ultimately from Old Breton Iudicael, the name of a Breton king revered as a Catholic saint. His name is from Old Breton iudd (“lord, ruler, prince”) + Old Breton cael (“generous, noble”) (whence modern Breton cael (“generous, noble”)).

A clipping of Morrissey plus -z.

Borrowed from German Redder.

Believed to be a variant of "nitch," related to "notch" — describing the small chipping strokes used to work the stone.

From master plus card, as the brand name of the card network.

Borrowed from Welsh Idris.