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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Borrowed from Punjabi ਮਲ੍ਹੋਤ੍ਰਾ (malhotrā), the same as ਮਰਹੋਤ੍ਰਾ (marhotrā).

From Old English suþ (“south”) + halh (“hollow, nook”).

From the German surname, from Middle High German dræhseler ("turner, lathe worker").

From the Chinese surname, from Mandarin 薛 (xuē, “type of grass; name of an ancient state, fief”). More at Xue.

Via French Ouabache, from Miami [Term?] (“it shines white”), referring to the Wabash River (which has a limestone bed), ultimately from Proto-Algonquian *wa·p- (“(be) white”).

Originally a nickname from Middle English stagg (“stag, hart”).

From French Latour.

From Bain, a river in North Yorkshire, + Old English brycġ ("bridge").

The suburb is named after surgeon William Redfern (1774–1833).

From French beau mont, meaning "beautiful mountain".

From the medieval female name Sefare, from Old English sǣ ("sea") and faru ("journey").

Variant of Darragh.

Romanization of Hokkien 鄧／邓 (Tēng). Doublet of Dinh.

Borrowed from German Goldfarb.

Borrowed directly from the Polish surname Bukowski.

Pinyin romanization of Mandarin 崔 (cuī).

From French bonne, "good," and ville, "settlement."

Borrowed from Arabic أَسَد (ʔasad).

From Sanskrit amitabha, "boundless light" — also the name of a major figure in Buddhist tradition.

From German "Fleisch" (meat) and "Mann" (man).

Variant of Laski.

Borrowed from German Jacopi, a Jewish Ashkenazi surname from a Latinized patronymic from the personal name Jacob.

As an English surname, from Lindow; unrelated to the Spanish/Portuguese word lindo ("pretty").

From translingual C + translingual H + translingual O + translingual N. From translingual CHON.