English dictionary, thesaurus, translations & etymology
FreeDict.com
Login Flashcards

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.

Browse etymology by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Recently added

somalian
Origin
From Somalia + -an.
simson
Origin
From Sim, the short form of Simon + -son.
slackness
Origin
From Middle English slacnesse, slakenes, slaknesse; equivalent to slack + -ness. Compare Old English slæcnes.
smackless
Origin
From smack + -less. Compare Middle English smakkeles, smechles (“savourless; lacking appeal or gusto”), West Frisian smakeleas (“tasteless”), Dutch smakeloos, smaakloos (“tasteless”), German geschmacklos (“tasteless”), Danish smagløs (“tasteless”), Swedish smaklös (“tasteless”), Icelandic smekklaus (“tasteless; indecent”).
slumbersome
Origin
From slumber + -some.
snuffy
Origin
From snuff + -y.
slizzard
Origin
From slither + -iz-, an intensifying infix, apparently + -ard, perhaps from drunkard. Compare slizzer (“to slither”).
snivelly
Origin
From snivel + -y.
slowcoach
Origin
From slow + coach.
sonographer
Origin
sonograph + -er
singlet
Origin
From single + -let.
simoleon
Origin
Most likely a late-19th-century blend of simon (“dollar”), from simon (“sixpence coin”) (17th-century British slang, perhaps related to simony?), and Napoleon (“French gold coin worth 20 francs, bearing the image of Napoleon III”). Perhaps from New Orleans. The gaming sense may have been chosen for its similarity to Sim.
sideload
Origin
From side + load, modelled on upload and download.
sleazebucket
Origin
From sleaze + bucket.
snarelike
Origin
From snare + -like.
skelly
Origin
From a clipping of skeleton + -y (diminutive suffix).
skol
Origin
Borrowed from Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish skål.
snudge
Origin
The origin of the verb is unknown. The noun is possibly derived from the verb.
shutterbug
Origin
From shutter + bug, from their tendency to work the camera's shutter frequently.
sinseh
Origin
From Hokkien 先生 (sin-seⁿ). Doublet of sensei, from Japanese 先生(せんせい) (sensei).
snowblower
Origin
From snow + blower.
signalise
Origin
From signal + -ise.
sidesplitting
Origin
From side + splitting.
smatch
Origin
From Middle English smacchen, smecchen (“to taste”), from Old English smæċċan (“to taste”), from Proto-West Germanic *smakkijan (“to taste”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *smeh₂g- (“to taste”). Cognate with West Frisian smeitse, smeitsje (“to taste”), Dutch smaken (“to taste”), German schmecken (“to taste”), Danish smage (“to taste”), Norwegian smake (“to taste”), Norwegian smak (“a taste”), Lithuanian smagù (“cheerful, enjoyable, pleasant”).