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 the Korean word for "wish," referencing the group's 2009 song "Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)."

A clipped, informal form of "pigeon" or "pigeonhole" first seen in writing in the early 2000s.

A trademarked blend of "instant" and "telegram."

Scottish Gaelic

From Scottish Gaelic. For many people so surnamed today (worldwide), their name can be traced back to the Clan MacMillan. The word roots are covered at McMillan.

Perhaps from a variant of Here!

Borrowed from Korean 오빠 (oppa), meaning "older brother" as used by a female speaker.

From the Korean name Goryeo, which was later Romanized by Western traders into "Korea."

From Ukrainian Руда́ (Rudá).

A Hispanicized spelling of Mohave, the name of an indigenous people of the Colorado River region.

From Old French d'Anvers ("from Antwerp").

From a Middle English diminutive of the given names Theobald and Isabel.

From Sanskrit ā́rya, meaning "noble" or "respectable" — originally a term the Indo-Iranian peoples used for themselves.

Named after Inspector Javert, the unyielding police officer who chases the hero across Victor Hugo's 1862 novel Les Misérables.

A further-worn variant of "Christ's sake," with an extra -s added the way "for goodness sakes" sometimes gets one.

A worn-down, casual pronunciation of "Christ's sake."

From Voltron, a giant robot formed by combining five smaller robots in the 1980s animated series Voltron: Defender of the Universe.

From Arabic صَلَاحُ الدِّين (ṣalāḥu d-dīn).

From the Dzongkha place name spa ro.

Borrowed from the Japanese place name 半田 (Handa).

From Old French beduin, ultimately from Arabic badawiyy, meaning a desert-dweller, from badw meaning "desert" or "nomads."

From Greek Sao, meaning "the rescuer," from the verb "sozo," to save.

From the Yoruba word orí, literally meaning "head," extended to mean a person's inner spiritual essence or destiny.

From "rook" (to cheat or swindle) plus the agent suffix "-er."

Coined based on Ancient Greek δυσ- (dus-) + δαίμων (daímōn), hence "ill-fated, unfortunate".