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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From Middle English godeman, formed from "good" and "man."

From Arabic hakim, "wise" or "learned," passed into Persian and Hindustani.

From tele- ("far, telegraph") and type; largely comes from the brand name of the Teletype Corporation's machines.

From Spanish, ultimately from the same Hebrew root that produced "Joanna" and "Jane."

From "bower" (a shaded, leafy shelter) plus the adjective-forming suffix "-y". The New York neighborhood The Bowery took its name from the Dutch word for a farm.

From Latin Cōnstantīnus, the name of Roman emperors, Latin cōnstāns (“constant, steadfast”). Doublet of Konstadinos.

Borrowed from Spanish Ramona.

From the Chimera of Greek myth, a fire-breathing monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail.

From a Middle English nickname meaning "kite" (the bird of prey), ultimately from Old English cȳta.

From "city" plus "-wide", following the same pattern as "worldwide" or "nationwide".

From east plus side.

From Sanskrit āditya, meaning "of Aditi" or "son of Aditi."

Borrowed from Sanskrit यम (yamá). Doublet of Enma.

From song + writing.

From super- + car, describing a car built to be far above ordinary performance.

Borrowed directly from Spanish telenovela.

From the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. The computing sense comes from Apple's "Sherlock" search tool, which in 2002 absorbed features from a smaller rival program, Watson.

From Belarusian Бара́нь (Baránʹ).

From the Welsh "bychan," meaning small.

A spelling variant of Terry, from Teresa.

Named after George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758–1834), who is said to have popularized the short jacket style.

From the German word über, meaning "above" or "over," which entered English partly through Nietzsche's term Übermensch ("superman").

Formed from deny plus the suffix -ability.

From Japanese "Sapporo," itself from an Ainu phrase meaning roughly "dry, great river."