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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 German Kohler, Köhler (“charcoal burner”).

Variant of Callaway.

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Deoradháin, from deoradh ("pilgrim, exile, stranger").

From German Schrader

An English occupational surname for a maker of nails.

Borrowed from Mandarin 許/许 (Xǔ) or 徐 (Xú), Wade-Giles romanization Hsü.

Habitational surname from several minor places in Cheshire, from either Old English finig (“heap”) or finn (“coarse grass”) + ġehæġ (“an enclosed piece of land”).

From Spanish, of Basque origin. Usually a common surname in Ecuador.

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Coigligh.

A variant spelling of the Irish surname Kavanagh.

From Irish Ó Corcráin (literally “descendant of Corcrán”). Variant of Cochrane.

From Middle English calfhirde, equivalent to calf + herd.

From Chinese 黃/黄 (huáng), rendered in Korean as 황 (hwang).

From Arabic رَحْمَٰن (raḥmān), "merciful," one of the traditional names for God in Islam.

Two main origins: * The village in Hampshire is from Old English heall (“hall, dwelling, house”) + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”). Equivalent to hall + -ley (“lea”). * The village in Kent is from Old English hāliġ (“holy, sacred”) + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”). Equivalent to holy + -ley (“lea”).

From Humphrey plus the patronymic suffix -s.

Two possible origins: * A topographic surname for someone who lived by a path across a heath, from Old English hǣþ (“heath, untilled land”) + weġ (“way”). * A metronymic surname from an Old English personal name *Heaþuwig, which is composed of the elements heaþu (“stife, contention”) and wīg (“war”). Cognate with German Hedwig.

From the Middle High German and Old High German surname, a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *Þeudōrīks, related to Dietrich.

From the Cantonese pronunciation of a Chinese character also romanised as Zhang or Chang in Mandarin.

From the Irish surname Tóibín, ultimately from a Norman name referencing Saint Aubin.

The surname has several provenances. It can be: #from Hebrew חיט (khayát, “tailor”); #a variant of the surname Highet.

Borrowed from Spanish Gamboa, from Basque Ganboa.

From Hungarian Tóth (“Slav”).

Variant of Washbourne.