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 Spanish Valdez, from Asturian Valdés.

From Mandarin words romanized as "ju," representing different Chinese characters depending on context.

A romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of the Chinese character 吳/吴, tied historically to the Wu region and its ancient kingdoms.

From round + -er, an agent suffix meaning "one who rounds" or "a thing that rounds."

From Old English grēatnes, built from great plus the noun-forming suffix -ness.

From Latin anticipatio, built on the same root as anticipate.

From un- ("not") plus responsive.

From Italian Marietta. By surface analysis, Maria /Marie /Mary + -etta. Piecewise doublet of Mariette.

Named after Stephen Decatur, an American naval commander celebrated for his actions in the early 19th century.

Borrowed from Punjabi ਚੋਪੜਾ (copṛā).

A French pet form of names ending in -mon, such as Simon.

A blend of "defense" and "condition."

From coffee + maker.

From "blood" plus "letting" (from the verb "let," meaning to release) — literally, releasing blood.

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 四川 (Sìchuān), a contraction of the Southern Song 四川路 (Sìchuān lù).

From Middle English "atten ash," meaning "at the ash tree" — the "n" shifted from the article onto the noun over time, the same way "an apron" once was "a napron."

A compound of "side" and "swipe".

From Middle English smartnesse, smertnesse, equivalent to smart + -ness. Cognate with Middle Dutch smartenisse (“pain, injury, insult, scorn, agony”).

Reportedly coined in the early 1960s by an employee of a fryer company demonstrating the machine at a Chicago trade show, after customers started eating the potato slices used to clean the fryer.

From the Mandarin word zhōu.

From parachute + -ing.

Formed from hooligan plus the suffix -ism.

From un- + helpful.

A noun formed from the phrasal verb "beat down."