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 gun + fighter.

From gun + fight.

Borrowed from Japanese 徳川 (Tokugawa).

From Middle English fyndling, built from "found" plus the suffix -ling, meaning a small or young one.

From Hindi śīlā, ultimately from Sanskrit śīla, meaning "character" or "good conduct."

A less common spelling of Monica, used since the twentieth century.

Shortened from "speedometer"; the swimwear sense comes from the Australian brand name Speedo, first used as a trademark in the 1920s.

From Late Latin praedicamentum, \"that which is predicated or asserted,\" via Old French — the meaning later narrowed to describe a tricky spot to be in.

From gang ("way, passage") + plank.

From un- ("not") plus eventful.

Named after York (as in York County, Virginia) plus "town."

From gang + land.

From New Latin commemorativus, built on commemorare ("to commemorate").

From an old plural form of sud, related to sod meaning "a bubbling or boiling," and connected to the verb seethe.

From Anglo-Norman surveour, ultimately from Old French sorveor — related to survey.

Borrowed directly from Italian galleria, the same root that gives English "gallery."

From round + house, likely modeled on the Dutch word rondhuis ("guardhouse").

From "bed" plus "post."

A blend of "beauty" and "technician," coined in the United States in the 1920s to give the trade a more professional-sounding title.

From bean + stalk, most famous from the fairy tale "Jack and the Beanstalk."

From bead + -y, describing something that looks like a small round bead.

From bath + house.

Formed from bar plus room.

Formed from "balls" (courage) plus the adjective ending -y.