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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As an English surname, from Rich. As a French surname, from Old French riche.

From Arabic بِلَال (bilāl), notably borne by Bilal ibn Rabah, an early and revered figure in Islamic history.

Borrowed from Japanese 佐野 (Sano).

A variant of Louden.

Borrowed from French Marceau.

A variant of the surname Sellick.

Variant of Waverley.

Variant of Swim.

From Gibson + -y.

From Old Church Slavonic попъ (popŭ, "priest").

Borrowed from Spanish Allende.

From Choctaw words meaning roughly "long-haired people," combining a term for hair with a term for people.

* As a Scandinavian/North Germanic, German, and Dutch surname, shortened from Adolf. * As an English surname, shortened from Delve with rounded vowel. * Also as an English surname, from Middle English delf (“quarry, pit”), related to the above.

Borrowed from Italian Giuliani.

From Hindi ठाकुर (ṭhākur), a historical feudal title.

Borrowed from Sanskrit अमर (amara, "undying, immortal").

Perhaps a habitational surname from a lost place in England, from an Old English personal name *Rēada + -ing (“belonging to”) + tūn (“enclosure; settlement, town”).

Unexplained, but possibly a variant of Higgins.

From the Chamorro name Saipan.

From Dutch van der Bilt, from van+der+De Bilt or Bilt. Literally, “from De Bilt, Netherlands”.

An altered spelling of thing, representing pronunciation in the southern United States (see thank–think merger); compare everytang. Also see archaic variants for "thing" like Middle English theing.

Two main origins: * Either an occupational surname for a carter, from an agent derivative of Middle English lode (“to load”), or a topographic surname from Middle English lode (“path, road, watercourse”). * Borrowed from German Loder, an occupational surname for a weaver of woolen cloth, from Loden (“coarse woolen fabric”).

From Hindi yādav, ultimately tied to the mythological Yadu lineage in Sanskrit tradition.

Borrowed from Korean 윤(尹) (Yun).