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 unique + -ness.

From Latin Cerberus, from Ancient Greek Kerberos, of unknown origin.

From Hebrew beth el, literally "house of God."

From peace + time.

First used commercially around 1985, likely a marketing name; possibly connected to Portobello Road in London.

From under- plus secretary.

Borrowed from Ojibwe wiindigoo, ultimately from a Proto-Algonquian word connected to owls and malevolent, cannibalistic spirits.

Borrowed from French comtesse, the feminine form of comte ("count").

Clipping of debutante or debut + -s (hypocoristic suffix).

From a medieval diminutive form of Hitch.

Borrowed from Persian ney, meaning "reed."

From Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (r'uvén).

From German Schumacher, "shoemaker."

Simply a compound of "big" and "horn," describing the animal's most distinctive feature.

From the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 龠 (yuè), the name for the ancient volume unit; the language sense is a separate, unrelated use of the same romanized spelling.

From blood + sucker. The “changeable lizard” sense is perhaps because of the reddish color of its neck.

From "Berber" plus the suffix "-y," likely influenced by the older adjective barbary meaning "barbarian, non-Christian."

From "ritual" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-istic."

From Latin Carthaginiensis, formed from Carthago (Carthage) plus the adjective-forming suffix -iensis.

From "belly" plus the suffix "-ful," meaning "enough to fill."

From Middle English belleman — literally "bell" plus "man," originally someone whose job was ringing a bell to get attention.

From Mandarin Qín, rendered using the Hanyu Pinyin romanization system; the instrument and the dynasty are unrelated words that happen to romanize the same way.

From "news" plus "man."

Formed from "crock" (earthenware pot) plus "-er," meaning someone whose trade is making them; first recorded in 1315 as an occupational surname.