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 less common spelling of Gerard.

Borrowed via Afrikaans krans from Dutch krans, ultimately from a Germanic root meaning "ring" or "circle", referring to a rock wall that curves around a space.

From Latin Lūcilla, feminine diminutive form of the praenomen Lūcius.

From lover + boy.

From Herb + -ie.

From the Armenian surname, later applied more broadly as an adjective describing a certain celebrity lifestyle.

From Scots buller, "to boil, seethe," probably related to Old Norse bulla and Latin bulliō, both meaning "to boil."

Formed from "bridge" plus the agent suffix "-er", the same pattern that turns "teach" into "teacher".

Borrowed from Italian Ferraris.

Habitational surname from the villages of Strickland Ketel and Strickland Roger, from Old English stirc (“bullock”) + land.

Shortened from the scientific name Homo erectus, Latin for "upright man."

From Old English suth ("south") + tun ("town, enclosure") — literally "south town."

From the Irish surname Ó Ceithearnaigh.

From Middle English Levenax, from Scottish Gaelic Leamhnach (“inhabitant of Lennox”) + -s. The Gaelic word derives from Leamhain (“Leven”) + -ach.

From Robert Lovelace, the charming but manipulative seducer in Samuel Richardson's 1748 novel "Clarissa" — his name became a byword for the type.

Named after Union General Ambrose Burnside, famous for this facial-hair style; his surname was later reshuffled into the more common word "sideburns."

Borrowed from Punjabi bhagat, ultimately from the Sanskrit word behind "bhakta" ("devotee").

Believed to come from the Arabic word for "brother", carried into New York street slang.

From the genitive or plural form of Middle English brigge ("bridge").

An abbreviation of "to come" — the letter C is swapped for K because the sequence "tk" is rare in English, making it easy to search for and remove before printing.

Borrowed from French Dubois, literally "of the woods".

From Old English mor ("moor") and leah ("wood, clearing").

Named after the French region of Anjou, where the pear variety was first cultivated.

From Old English lang + dun (“hill”).