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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 plural of oak. The surname could also derived from a partial translation of the Irish surname Mac Dubhdara (“son of Dubhdara”), a personal name composed of the elements dubh (“black”) and darach, genitive of dair (“oak”).

Named after American physician Henry Heimlich, who devised the technique in the 1970s.

From Hebrew עדינה.

Borrowed from Korean anju.

From Sanskrit हर (hara).

From Greek Autólukos, a figure in Greek mythology known for trickery and theft.

Borrowed from Japanese 青山 (Aoyama).

From Arabic hamid, "praiseworthy," from the same root as Muhammad and Ahmad.

From Old English dūn ("hill") + tūn ("enclosure, settlement, town"), or from the personal name Dudda + tūn.

Borrowed from Sanskrit कल्पना (kalpanā).

Borrowed from Old English Grendel.

From Japanese 有効 (yūkō), meaning "effective" or "valid."

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Named after Ernest Hemingway.

From Sanskrit लता (latā, “creeper”).

Borrowed from Māori rāhui, meaning "restriction" or "prohibition."

From Arabic al-Uqṣur, meaning roughly "the palaces" or "the fortifications."

From the French Geneviève, ultimately from Latin Genovefa — possibly Germanic in origin, from words meaning "kin" and "woman," or possibly Celtic, from a root meaning "family" or "clan."

Borrowed from Sanskrit रवि (ravi, "the sun or the sun-god").

From Sanskrit रघु (raghú).

From the surname elements Kirk (from church) and Patrick (from Saint Patrick).

From Sanskrit रुद्र (rudra).

Borrowed from Sanskrit सुधा (sudhā).

A straightforward compound of "clear" and "water," also widely used as a place name across North America.