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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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Borrowed from Italian Vico.

Borrowed from Spanish Charo.

Two main origins: * Amerindian surname typical of the Jemez Pueblo people of New Mexico, possibly from Spanish Toya. * Borrowed from Japanese 桐耶 (Tōya, “door valley”).

From Arabic رَافِع (rāfiʕ), meaning "one who raises or elevates."

Borrowed from Sanskrit अरुण (aruṇa).

c. late 20th c., from the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 日土 (Rìtǔ).

Borrowed from Dutch kommandeur, from Middle French commandeur. See command, compare commend (a doublet), and mandate.

A habitational surname from a place in West Yorkshire, England.

Of Germanic origin, related to the surname Goddard.

From Sanskrit दीक्षित (dīkṣita).

Borrowed from German Danziger, formed from the city name Danzig plus the suffix meaning "person from."

From Arabic jabbār, meaning "mighty" or "powerful," also one of the traditional names of God in Islam.

From an Old English place name combining a personal name with lēah, meaning "woodland clearing" or "glade."

From Italian carta ("document") or Spanish carta ("letter").

Borrowed from the Ancient Greek name Myron.

Variant of Eggleton.

From the Hakka or Cantonese pronunciation of Chinese 姚 (Yáo). Doublet of Yao.

Borrowed from Japanese 松井 (Matsui).

From "sweet" plus "water," typically referring to a place near fresh (non-salty) water.

The feminine counterpart to the surname Ivanov, following the Slavic pattern of gendered surname endings.

From German "Eisenhauer," meaning "iron hewer" or "iron worker."

From Khmer ស (sɑɑ) or Khmer សរ (sɑɑ).

Formed by shortening the familiar playground insult "scaredy-cat," itself built from "scared" plus the informal ending "-y."

From the Italian surname (Calabria & Sicily), from the title of magistrates in Italian states, ultimately from a nickname for members of the Roman senate, Latin senatus.