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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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From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 忠 (Zhōng).

From the Wade–Giles romanization Tsêng¹ of Mandarin 曾 (Zēng).

From the Middle English personal name Elwald, Elwold, Alwold, which is composed of the Old English elements ælf (“elf”) and weald (“rule”).

From the given name Herman.

Borrowed from Italian Martinelli.

From Italian Capone.

From Levin + -son.

As a Chinese surname, from Cantonese 麥／麦 (mak6); as a Polish surname, from Mak or short for Makary; as a Ukrainian surname, short for Makar; as a Hungarian surname, short for Makár.

A patronymic surname from Wes + -son, literally son of Wes, the latter a diminutive of the male given name Wesley.

Variant of Choi.

An Americanized form of the French surname Delannoy, ultimately referring to a place named for an alder grove.

Transliteration of Korean 정 (jeong).

From "still" (the distilling apparatus) plus "-man".

Borrowed from French Legrand (literally “Great, Grand”).

An anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó hAllmhuráin, from a personal name meaning roughly "foreigner."

From Middle English Mariot, a female given name.

From Old English æppel (“apple”) and Old Norse býr (“farm, town”), from the root of the verb Old Norse búa (“to dwell”).

As a German, Polish, or Jewish surname, from Yiddish/German Karpfen, "carp" (the fish). In some cases it developed from Greek saint names meaning "fruit-bearing."

A variant spelling of the Irish surname Kavanagh.

French surname, from several placenames or nicknames from la roche (“the rock”). Compare Roche.

From the Middle English personal name "Tolle" plus "-son," or alternatively from the place name Toulston in Yorkshire.

Borrowed from Cantonese 鄺／邝 (kwong3).

A variant of the surname Scanlon.

Anglicized form of Irish Ó Cearmada, "descendant of Cearmaid."