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 scrub + -ed.

The "-ing" form of "yelp", from Old English gielp.

A casual clipping of "delicious."

From the Hebrew name meaning roughly 'may Bel protect the king,' passed down through Greek and Latin into English as one of the Magi's traditional names.

From mental + -ist.

From Gujarati gāndhī, "grocer" or "perfume trader," ultimately from Sanskrit gandha ("perfume, scent").

From "mini-" plus "van"; the vehicle class became especially popular in the United States during the 1980s as an alternative to the station wagon.

* Japanese りえ (Rie), a given name with numerous possible original kanji. * Danish Rie * Dutch Rie

Borrowed from Japanese 三重 (Mie).

A shortened form of undergraduate.

Borrowed from Italian Salvatore. Doublet of Salvador.

From short + -y.

From major + -ly.

From Latin bryonia, from Ancient Greek bryonia, related to bryo (\"to swell\" or \"sprout\").

From respirate ("to breathe") plus the agent suffix -or, "thing that helps one breathe."

English surname, from Norman Ferrers, from the toponymic Ferrières, from French fer (“iron”).

A blend of "speaker" and "phone."

From Italian camorra, thought to derive from a Spanish word meaning "dispute" or "quarrel."

From the French, and possible also from Scandinavian, Lise. Variant of more common English Lisa.

From German Elsa, contraction of Elisabeth, occasionally used in English after its appearance in Wagner's opera Lohengrin (1847).

Built from "rage" (in its slang sense of "to party hard") plus the ending "-er."

Italian · 1851

Named after Queen Margherita of Savoy (1851-1926), for whom the pizza's red, white, and green toppings were said to represent the Italian flag.

A compound of "money" and "lender."

Borrowed from French Marthe and Norwegian Marthe.