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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Borrowed from Sanskrit वायु (Vāyú).

A clipping of "telecommunications".

Formed from Manchu plus the place-name suffix -ia, likely popularized through Dutch and Japanese sources describing the region in the 19th century.

Formed from physical plus the suffix -ity.

A contraction of Spanish mi hijo, "my son".

Borrowed from Japanese 縦 (tate).

Clipping of Madeleine or Madison + -y.

From Rhodes + -ia, after Cecil Rhodes.

From traffic + -ed.

From Old English gāt (“goat”) + -wick.

Named after the small hamlet of Heath Row that once stood where the airport was built — literally "row of houses by the heath."

From Latin Ignatius, altered to resemble ignis ("fire"), giving it a folk association with the meaning "fiery one."

Named after Arthur Guinness, the Irish brewer who first produced the stout in Dublin in 1759.

Borrowed through Spanish, possibly from an indigenous Opata word.

Spanish for "true cross."

Disputed. From Mayo sinalobola (“round pitahaya”) or cut corn.

Borrowed from Hawaiian noni.

From Spanish guerrero, "warrior."

Named after the city of Durango in northern Spain, of uncertain but possibly Basque origin.

Borrowed from Arabic رَامِي (rāmī).

The -ing form of misbehave, from Middle English mis- + behave.

From Ancient Greek Ithákē, the name of the island in Homer's Odyssey.

Borrowed from Italian Drago.

From witch plus the adjective-forming suffix -y.