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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 Japanese izumi, meaning "spring" or "fountain."

Borrowed from Japanese ゆい (Yui).

Borrowed directly from the Swedish surname Lundgren.

Borrowed from the Swedish surname Lindberg, roughly meaning "linden-tree hill."

Borrowed from Japanese ひさし (Hisashi).

Borrowed from Hokkien 許／许 (Khó͘), Hokkien 高 (Ko), Hokkien 古 (Kó͘), Hokkien 辜 (Ko͘), Korean 고(高) (Ko) in McCune–Reischauer romanization., etc.

From Old English wudu (“wood”) + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”). Equivalent to wood + -ley (“lea”).

Borrowed from Japanese はやと (Hayato).

From slap plus -y.

From Middle English burre, of unknown origin but probably from North Germanic (Scandinavian) source or from Old English byrst (“bristle”). See also burr. Compare English bristle, Danish burre (“bur, burdock”), Norwegian borre, Swedish borre, and Old Norse burst (“bristle”).

Named after James Smithson, the British scientist whose bequest funded the founding of the institution in 1846.

Borrowed from Kashmiri kaul.

Borrowed from Japanese せいじ (Seiji).

* As a German surname, from the noun Knabe (“boy, young unmarried man”). This is also found as the variant Knap. * As an English surname related to the above, from the noun knave, similar to Nave. * Also as an English surname, from Middle English knappe (“hillock”), from Old English cnæpp (“summit”), probably from the same source as Icelandic hnappur (“button”). * As a Jewish surname, from the German adjective knapp (“scarce, tight”).

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Duinn, a byname from donn ("brown, brown-haired").

Named after Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, as a tribute unit within the currency's own protocol.

Borrowed from Danish and Norwegian Mortensen.

Borrowed from Danish and Norwegian Madsen.

A clipped form of Pakistan/Pakistani.

Borrowed from Latin vās (“vessel”) around 1645 through 1655. Doublet of vase.

Borrowed from Japanese まゆみ (Mayumi).

Borrowed from Japanese あきら (Akira).

Borrowed from Japanese.

Borrowed from Japanese 池田 (Ikeda).