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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A blend of motor and town, referencing Detroit's nickname as the Motor City, home of the auto industry and Motown Records.

Subconscious plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

Late Latin · 1500

In use since the 1500s; widely thought to come from Late Latin lilium ("lily"), though it may once have been a pet form of Elizabeth.

From Latin cortex ("bark"), plus the adjective ending -al.

From an Italian, Catalan, and Spanish surname originally given to someone who lived by a shore — from riva, meaning "shore" or "bank."

From Latin speculari ("to observe, watch"), from specula ("watchtower"), ultimately from specere ("to look").

The past-participle form of mangle, formed with the regular -ed ending.

Invented by J. K. Rowling for her 1997 novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. She has suggested the name may have been influenced, consciously or not, by a plant called "hogwort" she once saw at Kew Gardens; within the story itself, fans often read it as a playful blend of "hog" and "warts."

From Mrs. Grundy, an unseen but constantly invoked prudish character in Thomas Morton's 1798 play Speed the Plough, whose name became shorthand for narrow-minded moral disapproval.

From third plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

From Arabic Maqadishu, itself derived from an earlier local name for the coastal settlement.

From Japanese shiatsu, literally "finger pressure," from characters meaning "finger" and "downward pressure."

A compound of "stock" (goods) and "room."

From Arabic sanā, the name of the plant.

From mail + box.

From un- ("not") plus dying, from die.

From un- + plugged.

From un- + hook.

The town was named after a prominent cotton-mill owner, Francis Henry Fries. The surname is converged from both Friesland and French friche (“fallow land”), found in Swiss French.

Built from staff plus the agent suffix -er.

From snoop + -er.

From slash plus the agent suffix -er.

From Old English sumerhūs, literally "summer house."

From "strategic" plus the adverb suffix "-ally."