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 German Armin, from Latin Arminius.

A shortened form of Dorothea or Theodora, ultimately from Greek theá, "goddess."

From French Édouard, doublet of Edward.

From bath + water.

An eye-dialect respelling of the swear word "fuck," imitating how it sounds in some Irish and Scottish accents.

Borrowed from German Mol (1897).

From French angélique. Doublet of angelic and angélique (“plucked bowl lute”).

From Greek Πόντος (Póntos, "sea"), also the name of the Black Sea in antiquity.

From Latin lucrum ("gain, profit").

From the Hebrew name Gidon, meaning roughly "one who cuts down" or "mighty warrior" — also the name of a judge and military leader in the Old Testament.

Named after American attorney Mike Godwin, who first described the online pattern in the early 1990s.

In reference to the ancient Roman and medieval Byzantine racing faction, a calque of Latin russātī (“Reddish-Brown-Clads”) or factio russata (“the reddish-brown-clad faction”) and Byzantine Greek Ῥούσιοι (Rhoúsioi, “Reds”).

From Old English "Norþmann," literally "north man" — a doublet of the word "Norman."

Borrowed from the Nepali word timura for the same spice.

Formed from victim plus the suffix -less, "without."

From back + street, describing streets tucked away from a town's main thoroughfares.

A variant spelling of "dike", tracing back through Middle English to Old Norse díki, meaning a ditch.

A shortened, informal form of "probationary."

From stifle + -er.

A shortened, informal form of "amplified".

Formed from court plus side.

A clipped form of tachycardia.

From "hand" + "print."

From the verb "guzzle," probably related to the French gosillier, "to chatter or vomit," ultimately tracing back to gosier, "throat."