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 Latin Claudius. Doublet of Claude.

From Latin Tiberius, literally 'Of the Tiber', from Tiberis, the river Tiber. Also note Faliscan equivalent *Tiferios. The name is mistaken by some to be of Etruscan origin but note the borrowed variants, Thefarie (from Faliscan) and Teperi (from Latin).

From Hebrew Eliyahu, meaning "Yahweh is my God."

From Latin Cato, a cognomen of the gens Porcia.

From Latin Lūcius, from lux ("light").

Formed from de- + compression.

Traced back through Arabic and Ottoman Turkish to a Biblical Hebrew name, ultimately from a Syriac word for "rock" — likely a reference to Mount Carmel.

A compound of "peep" and "hole."

From Middle French humaniste, related to the study of "humane letters" during the Renaissance.

From Old English niman, "to take" — the same ancient root that gives us "nimble" and "numb."

Formed from "cross-" plus "fire," describing gunfire directed across a shared line of attack.

From crack (meaning "excellent" or "skilled") + jack ("man"); also the name of a popular caramel-coated popcorn snack, Cracker Jack.

From down- + wind.

A learned borrowing from Latin regressio, built on regress plus -ion. The statistical sense comes from the phrase "regression to the mean."

From Middle English rimplen, "to become wrinkled" — related to German rumpeln ("to rumble, clatter").

From Old English Hrofesċeaster, literally "Hrofi's fortified camp".

From home + town.

From Italian franco ("French, free"), related to "franc" and "frank."

Borrowed from Spanish comanche, likely adapted from a Ute word meaning "enemy" or "stranger." The Comanche people's own name for themselves is Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people."

From counterfeit + -er.

counterintelligence

From counter- + intelligence.

Formed from roof plus -ing, indicating either the material or the ongoing process.

From "corn" (in the old sense of small granules of salt) plus "-ed."

Built from contortion (from Latin contortus, "twisted together") plus the agent suffix -ist.