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 Ancient Greek Gómorrha, itself from the Hebrew Bible's ʿămōrā.

Likely borrowed from Arabic رَشِيد (rašīd) eventually.

Learned borrowing from Latin Remus.

Learned borrowing from Latin Rōmulus.

Borrowed from the Italian given name Pasquale, related to Easter.

Borrowed from German Meisner.

Borrowed from French sauce hollandaise, literally "Dutch sauce."

From Middle English Pate, short form of Patrick, + -son.

Japanese · 1954

From Japanese Gojira, a blend of gorira ("gorilla") and kujira ("whale"), invented for the 1954 film.

A straightforward compound of "hen" and "house".

From German Schiller ("shimmer, iridescence").

From Latin Eurydicē, from Ancient Greek Εὐρυδίκη (Eurudíkē).

From Sanskrit Narayana, a name of Vishnu.

Formed from the name Gauss plus the adjective-forming suffix -ian.

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

A clipped form of Amerikano in Tagalog, itself from Spanish americano ("American").

From Turkish Zeynep.

Habitational surname from Rohan in Morbihan, Brittany. Also a variant of Rowan and Ruane.

From Mandarin Zhào, in the Wade-Giles romanization Chao.

A playful, affectionate form of "wife" formed by adding the informal "-y" ending, the same pattern as "mommy" or "hubby."

Blend of Rose and Anna, possibly also influenced by Roxana.

A variant of Rosaline inspired by the Scottish place name Roslin or Rosslyn.

An elaborate form of Rosalie, or a simplified form of Rosalind.

The name arose in the 1930s in the US as a shortened form of Marlene; the land-measurement sense has a separate South Asian origin.