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- + play + -ing.

From pool + side.

From knife + -ed.

From downsize plus -ing.

Believed to be an altered form of "voodoo."

A Scots and dialect word imitating a pursed, tight-lipped expression.

A shortened scientific name, from Latin coli, meaning "of the colon" — because the bacterium lives in the large intestine.

Borrowed from Quechua amaru.

Borrowed from Swedish Annika, a diminutive of Anna.

Formed from Alan plus the feminine ending -a.

Doublet of Adrienne and Adrian.

Brought to England by the Normans as a shortened form of Adela and Adele.

Latinate form of French Adèle, from Proto-Germanic *aþalaz ("noble").

Diminutives formed with -ie.

A nineteenth-century coinage probably based on similar-sounding names such as Charlene and Arlette.

From Spanish Anita, a diminutive of Ana, itself derived from the Hebrew name Hannah ("grace").

An Irish saint's name, from Irish Dáire.

From Old English Ælfræd ("elf counsel"), a doublet of Alfred.

From the title character of Carlo Collodi's 1883 story The Adventures of Pinocchio, a wooden puppet whose nose grew whenever he told a lie.

Borrowed from Latin sylvester (“woody, rural”) from silva (“wood”); name of a saint whose feast day falls on December 31.

From ear plus piece.

From Persian/Arabic nazir, related to nazr, "vow" or "oversight."

From Middle English combed, kombide, equivalent to comb + -ed.

From the Tongyong Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation for 復興 (Fùxīng) Tongyong Pinyin romanization: Fùsing.