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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 an Irish phrase meaning "servant of the red-haired lad".

From sunny + vale.

Borrowed from Japanese 吉野 (Yoshino).

Borrowed directly from the Japanese surname 湯川 (Yukawa).

Borrowed from Japanese 原田 (Harada).

Borrowed from Japanese 長谷川 (Hasegawa).

Borrowed from Japanese 藤井 (Fujii).

Borrowed from Japanese 村上 (Murakami), literally "upper town".

From Japanese 前田 (Maeda), literally "front rice field."

Borrowed from Japanese 岡田 (Okada).

Borrowed from Japanese 森 (Mori) or 毛利 (Mōri).

Borrowed from Japanese 山崎 (Yamazaki).

Borrowed from Japanese 井上 (Inoue).

Borrowed from Japanese 岡本 (Okamoto).

Borrowed from the Japanese surname/placename 高山 (Takayama), literally "tall mountain."

Borrowed from Japanese Ishihara (石原).

Borrowed from Japanese 安田 (Yasuda) or 保田 (Yasuda).

Borrowed from Japanese 福田 (Fukuda).

Borrowed from Japanese あつこ (Atsuko).

Borrowed from Japanese いちろう (Ichirō), a given name with numerous possible original kanji.

Borrowed from Japanese なつこ (Natsuko).

Borrowed from Japanese 西村 (Nishimura).

Borrowed from Japanese 野田 (Noda).

Borrowed from Japanese 平田 (Hirata), literally "flat rice field."