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.

Browse etymology by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Recently added

Romanization of Cantonese 崔 (ceoi1) and Hokkien 崔 (chhui). Doublet of Cui.

From Galician Brea. Compare Blea.

* As an English and French surname, variant of Saint (as a Dutch surname, from a doublet, sint; also Vansant). * As an Italian surname, variant of Santo. * As a Jewish surname, variant of Sand, itself from the English noun sand. * As an Indian (Maharashtra)/Hindi surname, from संत (sant).

Borrowed from Japanese 野村 (Nomura).

From Old English hors ("horse") plus īeġ ("island").

Heterographic variant of Appleby.

From Early Scots Menȝies, from Scottish Gaelic Mèinnearach, from Anglo-Norman Mesnières.

From the Mandarin name Qiāng, rendered in the standard Hanyu Pinyin romanization system.

From Arabic jamīl, meaning "beautiful."

Patronymic from Fear.

From Old French antoillier, ultimately from Latin ante oculos, "before the eyes" — describing the part of the growth positioned in front of the animal's eyes.

From Lushootseed təkhoʊʔməʔ, referring to the area around Mount Rainier, meaning roughly "mother of waters."

Borrowed from Bengali সিউড়ি (śiuṛi), সিউড়ী (śiuṛi).

Borrowed from Hokkien 張 /张 (Tiuⁿ, Tioⁿ) via Malaysia and/or Singapore. Doublet of Chang. Compare Tagalog Tiu / Tio.

Transliteration of Tamil கண்ணன் (kaṇṇaṉ) and Malayalam കണ്ണൻ (kaṇṇaṉ).

A modern spelling of the Sanskrit Gautama, the family name most famously linked to Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha.

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Tonnaigh (“descendant of Tonnach”), a personal name derived from tonn (“wave, billow”).

Carried into Spanish from the Basque place name Gabiria.

From the Dutch surname, from rommelen ("to rumble").

From Arabic, built on the same root as "hajj," the pilgrimage itself.

Classical Persian

From Urdu جاوید (jāved), from Classical Persian جاوید (jāwēd). Doublet of Javid from Iranian Persian.

Borrowed from German Schmeling.

Borrowed from French Villeneuve (literally “Newtown, new town”).

From various Chinese surnames, such as Cantonese 張／张 (zoeng¹) or 蔣／蒋 (zoeng²), Hokkien 鍾／钟 (Chiong).