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 Irish tur ("dry") + loch ("lake") — literally a "dry lake."

A straightforward compound of safe + cracker, someone who "cracks" a safe open.

Formed from rot plus the agent suffix -er.

By surface analysis, stir + -ing.

From in- ("not") plus considerate.

In some cases, a 20th-century spelling of Trudy; in other cases borrowed from German Trudi.

Shortened Gertrude + -y.

A Latinised form of the Scandinavian name Gerd, from Old Norse Gerðr, related to a word for "protection." The name is also famous as a character in Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen.

From Spanish alameda, a public walkway shaded by poplar trees, from álamo ("poplar").

Diminutives + -ie.

Shortened from "Immy," a nickname for the image orthicon camera tube, later feminized to match the award's statuette design.

From French Sion, from Latin Sedunum, from the name of the Seduni tribe.

An anglicized form of the Welsh "ab Ifan," meaning "son of Ifan (John)."

Named after the Dutch city of Gouda, where the cheese has traditionally been traded.

From Middle English bilevyng, belevand, bileveand, belefand, from Old English *belēfende, ġelīfende, ġelȳfende. Equivalent to believe + -ing.

A short form of Old Norse female names beginning with "Þórr" (Thor).

From the Ancient Greek name Helle.

From Old Norse Helga, meaning "holy" or "blessed" — the feminine form of Helgi.

From collide plus the agent suffix -er, "a thing that collides (particles)."

A dialect contraction of "somewhat," recorded since the 1700s; some scholars think it grew out of "some that."

A Scots dialect variant of the English word "down."

From Thai muay, meaning "boxing."

From Hindi/Sanskrit bhārata, the traditional name for the Indian subcontinent, related to the legendary king Bharata.

Japanese · 1889

From Japanese 任天堂 (Nintendō), the company's name since 1889, originally a maker of playing cards.