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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A pet form related to names beginning with the Germanic element meaning "noble."

From Old English words for "black" and "stone."

Borrowed from Japanese きみこ.

Borrowed from Japanese 菊池 (Kikuchi).

Borrowed from Arabic يُوسُف (yūsuf), tracing back to the Biblical Hebrew name Yosef — the same root as "Joseph."

A 20th-century coinage, possibly a variant of Charmian or based on "charm" plus the -aine ending seen in Elaine and Germaine.

From Old French covent, an earlier form of what became "convent" in modern English — most familiar today in the London place name Covent Garden.

From "hand" + "-y," describing someone overly quick with their hands.

Borrowed from Japanese かずこ (Kazuko).

A trademarked name coined by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer for the drug alprazolam.

Borrowed from Assamese, adopted into British military slang.

Believed to derive from the surname of an early manufacturer of the machine.

Variant of Marcy.

Borrowed from Japanese 關西

A patronymic built from the given name Ivan plus the feminine patronymic suffix -ovna.

A patronymic built from the given name Ivan plus the masculine patronymic suffix -ovich.

From Spanish Pascual, related to Easter/Passover, and common in the Philippines due to Spanish colonial influence.

Borrowed from Spanish Fidel, from Latin fidēlis ("faithful").

Borrowed from Italian Verdi.

Borrowed from Japanese めぐみ (Megumi).

Origin debated; possibly linked to the artillery term "gomer" (a chamber shape in old cannons, named after French officer Louis-Gabriel de Gomer) or to the bumbling TV character Gomer Pyle.

A shortened, informal form of "suicide," with the playful -ey ending tacked on the same way "telly" comes from "television."

From French Grégoire.

Variant of McCoy.