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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transplantation

From Middle French transplantation, from transplanter ("to transplant") plus the action-noun ending -ation.

An imitative word — it was coined to mimic the sound itself.

From Middle English Sampson, Sampsoun, Samson, from Latin Samson, from Ancient Greek Σαμψών (Sampsṓn), from Hebrew שִׁמְשׁוֹן.

From "decode" + the suffix "-er."

Named for the scratching behaviour the irritation causes in affected animals.

From king + the suffix -ship, which turns a noun into a word describing a state, rank, or condition (as in "friendship" or "ownership").

From "kid" (to tease) + the agent suffix "-er."

A spelled-out form of the letters "KO" (knockout).

From "bootleg" + "-er" — originally referring to Prohibition-era smugglers who hid liquor bottles in their boots.

From Pashto کندهار (Kandahār, “Alexander, Alexandria”), ultimately from Ancient Greek Ἀλεξάνδρεια (Alexándreia, “Alexandria Arachosia”), the city's ancient name. Doublet of Alexander, Alexandria, Alexandretta, Iskenderun, and Scandaroon.

From bash + the agent suffix -er.

From Old French templier, ultimately from Latin templum, "temple" — the order took its name from its headquarters near the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.

From Middle English weten, an old variant of witen ("to know") — the same root that gives us the modern word "wit."

From the English surname Davenport, originally referring to someone from a place of that name in Cheshire (from the River Dane plus "port"). The furniture sense likely traces to a 19th-century manufacturer or purchaser named Davenport.

Formed by adding the comparative suffix "-er" to "slow."

From inter- ("between") plus lock.

From mistaken plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

From code (to write instructions in a programming language) plus -ing.

From "Ned" (a nickname for Edward) + -y, following the old habit of giving animals human nicknames.

From bull + fight.

A direct, unadapted borrowing of the French name Yves.

From indistinct plus -ly.

From red plus line, from the practice of marking corrections in red pen and the red zone on a tachometer.

From "bi-" (two) and "polar" (relating to a pole or extreme).