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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From pick + up.

Borrowed from Japanese 何 (nani).

A playful shortening of "sixteenth" with the diminutive ending "-ie" tacked on.

An abbreviation of "license."

Anglicized form of Irish Mac Cú Uladh.

Borrowed from German Krampus.

An imitative (onomatopoeic) sound, mimicking a grunt of exertion.

Anglicized form of Irish Mac Craith, perhaps a variant of Mac Raith (“son of Rath”), a byname from rath (“abundance, prosperity”).

From Old English æscet (“a clump of ash trees”) + ford or, alternatively, from æsc (“an ash tree”) + ford. Equivalent to ash + ford.

A compound of banner and man, describing the historical role of carrying a unit's flag into battle.

From Sanskrit gopī, meaning "cowherd woman," built from gau ("cow") plus a suffix indicating one who tends or protects.

From Hebrew גְּרָ״א, an acronym of "Gaon Rabbeinu Eliyahu."

Borrowed into English from Hindi, which took it from the Sanskrit word for the same plant.

From Middle English Whytlok, Whitelok, Witloc, Wictlok, Wyhtlok, Witlok, Whytlak, Whitlak; partly from Old English witlāc, wihtlāc (personal name) and partly from Middle English whyt (“white”) + lok (“lock, hair”).

From Hindi/Sanskrit "prasad," meaning "grace" or "favor."

A blend of "robo-" and "cop," popularized by the 1987 film RoboCop.

An initialism of "guest of honour."

Named after Charles Darwin, and coined by the geneticist J.B.S. Haldane in 1949.

Anglicized form of Färber, meaning "a dyer" from German Farbe "colour".

From "cap" plus the informal diminutive suffix -ie, in the same pattern as "movie" or "hankie."

A diminutive form derived from the Old High German name Hamo.

Multiple sources, including: * Hungarian Varga, from varga (“shoemaker”) * Spanish Varga, from toponyms * phonetic respelling of Polish Warga, from warga (“lip”)

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Artaine (literally “son of Artan”), from mac (“son”) + Artan, a diminutive of the name Art, from Old Irish art (“bear”). Compare McCartan, of similar origin.

A jokey mispronunciation of "video" (as in "video games"), popularised online and said to trace back to a line from the 1990s sitcom King of the Hill.