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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A casual blend of "step-" (a family relationship formed through remarriage rather than blood) and "mom."

Backslang for six

From "buck" (a spirited or adventurous young man) plus the informal "-o" ending, similar to "kiddo."

The disease is named after Lyme, Connecticut, where it was first identified in the 1970s; the town names themselves trace back to Lyme Regis in Dorset, England.

A compound of cell and block.

A compound of "slime" and "ball," partly modelled on the German word Schleimkugel.

Formed from film plus making.

From mail + room.

Formed from the phrasal verb "screw up," turned into a single noun.

From un- + called.

From nick plus the past-tense ending -ed.

Simply "jail" plus "house."

The word grew out of a West Country English dialect pronunciation of "yes," but it became famous worldwide as stereotypical "pirate speak" after actor Robert Newton used it heavily playing Long John Silver and Blackbeard in 1950s films.

From Old English bocere, "scribe," originally someone who wrote or recorded things in books; the modern sense of arranging reservations grew from the verb "to book."

Inherited from Middle English siker, sikker, sykkere, secre, seccre, from Old English sēocra (“sicker”), equivalent to sick + -er.

From Old English bocmann, originally denoting someone who held "bookland" — land granted by a written charter.

From Anglo-Norman French granger, someone who worked at a grange (a farmhouse with barns), ultimately from Latin granum, "grain."

From bloody + -ed.

Borrowed from German Mops, "pug."

The past participle of unravel, formed by adding -ed.

From dock (the harbour sense) + the agent suffix -er.

From Old French remander ("to send back"), from Latin remandare, ultimately from re- + mandare ("to order").

From Hindi अविनाश (avināś), "indestructible".

From sociopath + -ic.