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.

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

From Greek treis ("three") + keras ("horn") + ops ("face") — literally "three-horned face."

From Arabic amira, "princess," the feminine form of amir.

From spill plus the agent suffix "-er."

From Mandarin 南京 (Nánjīng), meaning "southern capital," named to contrast with Beijing ("northern capital").

From I'm or I'm going to.

From Old English Eanred + tun, meaning "Eanred's town".

Borrowed from Japanese tengu, written with characters meaning "heavenly dog."

Etymology tree English Letitia English -y English Letty From Letitia + -y.

A learned borrowing from Akkadian Ištar; the same figure known elsewhere as Astarte or Ashtoreth. Despite a popular misconception, the name is not related to the English word "Easter."

Popularized by the cartoon character Shaggy in Scooby-Doo, who used it as his catchphrase whenever something startled him.

From Arabic شَرِيف (šarīf), "noble" or "honorable."

Formed by joining "Czech" and "Slovak," reflecting the union of the two peoples in one state.

Formed from the name "Jack" plus the informal "-o" ending common in Australian and British nicknames.

Named from French concorde ("concord, harmony"), marking the joint UK-France partnership that built the aircraft.

From Old English bōc ("book") + land ("land"), originally land held by charter.

A made-up finance term, coined to sound like a Greek letter and echo the related term "vega."

Origin unclear; it surfaced in American slang in the 1930s, possibly related to British slang "moke" (donkey) or to words meaning "fool" in other languages.

An informal clipping of "genocide".

Origin uncertain; the untidy-woman sense may be linked to the female name Mab, as in Queen Mab, the fairy queen of English folklore mentioned in Romeo and Juliet.

Among Jewish families, often explained as an abbreviation of the Hebrew phrase for "righteous priest" (kohén tzédeq). Among German families, it can simply come from the German word Katze, "cat," or from various German place names.

Borrowed from Japanese はあ (hā).

From supper + time.

Invented as a made-up brand name in 1908 by watchmaker Hans Wilsdorf, who wanted something short and easy to say in any language.

From the German surname Benz, after Karl Benz, a pioneer of the automobile and co-founder of what became Mercedes-Benz.