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 Ancient Greek Ptolemaios.

From Old English ċeorl ("freeman") plus tūn ("town, settlement") — a doublet of Charlton.

From the Ancient Greek name Diōn, also used historically as a short form of Dionysius.

From either the Old English byname Wintra, or Old English winter (“winter”) + worþ (“enclosure”).

Inherited from Old English Wilfriþ, from wil (“will”) + friþ (“peace”).

From Hebrew Yitro, related to yeter ("abundance" or "excellence").

Compare Middle English saundres.

From French Annette, a diminutive of Anne formed with the affectionate suffix "-ette," roughly meaning "little Anne."

Anglicization of Welsh Conwy

From a district in Ayrshire, Scotland, whose name may derive from Old English "king" or Gaelic "rabbit" combined with a word for "home" or "village."

From the French form of Latin Hortēnsia, ultimately related to hortēnsis ("having to do with gardens").

From Arabic عُمَر (ʕumar). Doublet of Umar.

Traditionally traced to Saint Clare, honoured by churches associated with the clan.

From a medieval given name that could either be a family name passed down or an old term describing someone as German.

From Old English scir ("shire") + wudu ("wood") — "the wood belonging to the shire".

As a Scottish/English surname, literally "son of Lawrence"; in some Scandinavian-American families it is an anglicized form of Larsen or Larsson.

From North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

From Old French Perceval, name of a knight in a twelfth century Arthurian romance by the French poet Chrétien de Troyes. Shaped like Old French percier (“pierce”) + val (“valley”), but probably representing some Gaulish or Old Welsh name, possibly related to Welsh Peredur, from ber (“spear, lance”) (from Middle Welsh ber, from Proto-Brythonic *ber, from Proto-Celtic *beru (“spit”)) + dur (“hard metal, steel”) (see Latin durus). Cognate with German Parzival and Parsifal.

Suffixed with -ie, compare Noll and Neddie, respectively from Oliver and Edward.

From Old English sweordplega, literally "sword" + "play" (in the sense of combat or sport).

Formed from swordsman + the suffix -ship, meaning "skill or quality of."

A compound of "flag" and "pole."

Borrowed from Swedish Uppsala, from Old Norse Uppsalir (literally “upper halls, upper dwellings”), from upp (“up”) + salir (“halls, rooms”, plural of salr).

A compound of "sky" and "rocket", originally naming the firework before the verb sense of "shooting up suddenly" developed.