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.

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Adapted from a Mohawk phrase describing the hillside country of a quiet river, later respelled by early Dutch settlers.

From an Old English personal name plus a word for "stream."

Borrowed from French Fontainebleau

From Old French bois, meaning "wood."

From Middle English Fenton, from Old English fenn (“fen, marsh”) + tūn (“enclosure; settlement, town”).

Of Dutch origin, hoog (“high”) + aard (“nature or character”).

Two possible origins: * A variant of Beech, with the locative suffix -er. * An Americanized form of German Bücher.

"The king's wood or clearing", from Old English cynges, genitive of cyng (“king”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”).

From Old French druerie ("love, friendship"), from dru ("friend, lover").

From the Old English personal name *Weorþ + -ing (“belonging to”) + tūn (“enclosure; settlement, town”).

From the Norman habitational surname referring to places in France called Nogent.

From an Old French/Germanic personal name meaning "gift-brave" or "gift-strong".

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Gille Fhaolain and Irish Mac Giolla Fhaoláin (“son of the servant of Faolán”), a personal name thought to be a diminutive of Irish faol (“wolf”). Compare the surname Gilliland.

From Latin Crassus.

Spelling variant of Reid

From the surname of Marie Kondo, the Japanese organising consultant whose method popularised the term.

An anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Céirín, related to the word ciar, meaning "dark."

Variant of Foulsham.

Borrowed from Spanish Pecos, from a Keresan term for the Pecos Pueblo.

A dialectal pronunciation of horse; see also 'oss in English dialects with h-dropping.

From Hindi arjun, ultimately from Sanskrit.

From Old English stānas (“stones”).

Various origins: * Borrowed from Dutch Balle, a reduced form of any of various Germanic names beginning with the element *balþaz (“bold”). * Borrowed from Danish Balle, a habitational surname from balle (“slope; hill”). * A respelling of Catalan Batlle, an occupational surname from batlle (“mayor”).

From Japanese 渋谷 (Shibuya), literally "harsh valley."