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.

Browse etymology by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Recently added

From re- + trial.

From "profile" plus the agent suffix "-er."

Formed from pound + the agent suffix -er, meaning "one that pounds" or "one that weighs a certain number of pounds."

Genericized from the trademark Jell-O, the popular gelatin dessert brand.

From the name Dobby, itself a variant of Rob, associated with household spirits in British folklore.

Built from "nob" (a rich or upper-class person) plus the adjective ending "-y."

From dismember plus the suffix -ment.

The surname and place name likely derive from Old English roots referring to boggy or poor pastureland; the woodworking verb has a separate, less certain origin.

A clipped, informal form of "helicopter."

From Greek Stephanos, meaning "crown" or "wreath."

Named after the physicist Ernest Rutherford, a pioneer of nuclear physics.

From Middle French toge and Latin toga — a doublet of both "toga" and "tog."

From club, in the sense of a heavy stick that is thicker at one end.

From "un-" + "listed."

Borrowed from Japanese, literally "foster parent," reflecting the family-like hierarchy of yakuza organisations.

Coined in the 1940s by the Swiss chemist Leandro Panizzon, who synthesized the drug and named it after his wife Marguerite, nicknamed "Rita."

Borrowed directly from French capitaine.

From "rock" (the music genre) plus "star."

Borrowed from Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish Anders.

Variant of Ullrich.

From Old French celestin, from Latin caelestinus ("heavenly"), from caelum ("sky, heaven").

Built from disillusion (to free someone from a mistaken belief) plus the ending -ed, so it literally means "having had one's illusions removed."

Traced through Dutch and Portuguese back to a Kannada word, ultimately from a Dravidian root referring to the neem or similar tree.

Borrowed from French pinot, related to pin ("pine"), possibly describing the cone-shaped clusters of grapes.