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 friend plus the suffix -less, meaning "without."

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

From Old English Middeltūn, from middle plus -ton ("settlement").

From James Boswell, the 18th-century biographer whose detailed, admiring record of Samuel Johnson's life and conversation became the model for the genre.

From Mary Magdalene, "Mary of Magdala," a town on the Sea of Galilee; the generic sense arose from her traditional (though disputed) identification with a repentant sinner in the Gospel of Luke.

From Italian Medici, the family surname.

From Niagara Falls, the famous waterfall on the border of Canada and the United States, whose name comes from an Iroquoian word meaning roughly "neck of land."

From Old High German sigu, "victory," and fridu, "peace."

From Old Norse Sigurðr, from sigr (“victory”) + varðr, vǫrðr (“guard”). This is the name of the legendary Eddaic character corresponding to Siegfried, the hero of the Nibelungenlied, but the names are not exact cognates. Sigfrid is a saint's name in Scandinavia.

From Ancient Greek Ἄθως (Áthōs).

A compound of "bird" and "house."

From taunt plus -ing.

Transliteration of Russian Пу́шкин (Púškin).

From marginal plus the adverbial suffix -ly.

From "progressive" plus "-ly."

A compound of "top" and "soil".

A casual clipping of "merchandise," popular from the late 20th century onward.

From Old French, ultimately from the Ancient Greek root meaning "pearl" shared with Margaret.

Variant of Margery, a medieval vernacular form of Margaret.

From Germanic roots meaning "bright" combined with "raven."

From Latin silva, "forest, woodland."

From Latin deterrens, the present participle of deterrere ("to frighten away, deter").

From "arraign" plus the suffix "-ment".

Named after the Argyll region of Scotland, home of Clan Campbell, whose tartan inspired the pattern.