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 20th-century coinage from Carl and the ending -ene, -lene, as in Marlene and Charlene.

From Middle French foy, a doublet of the word "faith."

From Romanian strigoi, tracing back to Latin striga ("witch, evil spirit"), related to strix ("screech owl").

A trademark name combining German Wasser ("water") and Greek elaion ("oil"), registered by chemist Robert Chesebrough in 1872. It has since become genericized, the way "hoover" or "thermos" did.

Transliteration of Russian Серге́й (Sergéj), from Latin Sergius.

From tip ("apex") plus a diminutive -y ending, dating to around 1790.

A contraction of Spanish mi hija, "my daughter".

As a French nickname surname, from bosse, "bump, hump."

From Old English belifan, "to remain," related to the modern word "leave."

From Spanish Casablanca, "white house," itself a calque from Portuguese and Arabic.

From Aramaic, traditionally translated as "house of grace" or "house of mercy."

From Slavic female given name, from the Slavic name for the Morning Star (an aspect of the planet Venus).

From mittens, describing a cat's differently colored paws.

Borrowed from Portuguese Copacabana and Spanish Copacabana, the latter borrowed in turn from Aymara Kotakawana (“God of Fertility”).

From "Lord" plus the informal ending -y; first recorded in 19th-century American English.

Named after Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger, who described the condition in the 1940s.

From Irish Ó Muircheartaigh ("descendant of Muircheartach"), from muir ("sea") and ceardaí ("craftsman").

From Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798), the Venetian writer and adventurer whose memoirs of romantic conquests made his name a byword for a seductive ladies' man.

From Spanish Modesto.

The car sense comes from the Aston Martin brand name; the verb sense is a variant form related to "astonish."

Named after Mount Fuji, Japan's tallest and most famous mountain.

A variant of the surname Priestley, from Old English preost ("priest") and leah ("clearing, meadow").

A variant of "titty," recorded since the late 1700s.

An American fanciful variant of Maria.