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.

Browse etymology by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Recently added

A spelling variant of Aisha.

* From the Old English mæþere

A spelling variant of Jarvis, from Gervase.

From Cornwall, spelling conflated with the Latin family name Cornelius.

Borrowed from Italian Borgia, from Spanish Borja.

From Old English walh (“Welshman”), genitive plural wala + denu (“valley”).

"Dweller at the farm in the valley", from Old English dene (“valley”) + hām (“farm”).

Variant of McKay.

From Old English flēot (“pool, stream”) + wood.

From Latin Petronius.

Inherited from Middle English Artoys, from Middle French Artois, Artoys, from Old French Arteis, from Latin Atrebatēs; the modern pronunciation has been readjusted after modern French Artois.

From an Old English word related to "bending," referring to a bend in the road or river.

From Arabic شَيْخ (šayḵ, “elder”). Sense 4 (“a romantic lover”) is from the 1921 film The Sheik.

As a surname, originally a nickname for someone with a pockmarked face, from Old French greslé ("pitted, scarred").

From French Villiers.

Scottish Gaelic

From Scottish Gaelic dail ("field, meadow").

An English habitational surname taken from a lost place name in Normandy.

From Old English graf ("grove") plus tun ("enclosure, settlement").

From whityer (“a whiter, whitester”, occupational name).

From Old English æx; the same word as "axe", spelled differently in American English.

From Old French la mare, meaning "the pool."

From Middle English stowe, from Old English stōw (“place”).

Borrowed from Spanish Pizarro.

A shortening of "brother."