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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Etymology unknown.

From Norwegian Skutterud + -ite, after the old spelling of the town of Skotterud in Norway.

From snitch + -y.

Blend of somatic + aesthesis + -tics. Coined by the American philosopher Richard Shusterman.

From Middle English sosse, sos, soos (“hounds' meat; a mess of food”), of uncertain origin. See sesspool.

From Latin signatorius.

* Perhaps from skeleton, describing the often skeletal appearance of drug users. * Alternatively, from skellum or skelder ("to beg in the streets"). Used by Ben Jonson, 1599. * In the sense of a suspicious person, popularized by the American TV police drama NYPD Blue.

From sign + board.

From Middle English sys, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French sis, sies. Doublet of six.

From solemn + -ization.

From smell + -er.

From snot + wad.

From snow + bird.

From sorrow + -some. Compare Dutch zorgzaam (“careful; considerate”), German sorgsam (“careful”).

The noun is attested since 1914, from the colloquial verb smalm, smarm (“to smear, bedaub (hair, with pomade)”), attested since 1847, of unknown origin, perhaps somehow suggestive of the action. Verbal meaning "to smear with flattery" is from 1902.

From single + -fold, modelled after onefold.

From soft + cover.

From Sinae + -an, from Latin Sinae, from Ancient Greek Σῖναι (Sînai), q.v.

From snuggle + -y.

From slime + hole.

Inherited from Middle English sleighty; equivalent to sleight + -y.

Inherited from Middle English sorwefulnesse; by surface analysis, sorrowful + ness.

From Middle English slombere, slomerer, slummerare, equivalent to slumber + -er.

From Hebrew שולמית.