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 defence + the suffix -less ("without").

From betroth ("to promise in marriage") plus the noun-forming suffix -al, as in "arrival" or "refusal."

From Middle English glasynge, formed from glaze plus -ing.

From Middle English rostynge; equivalent to roast + -ing.

From scrub + -ing.

From Middle English ecchinge, ȝitchinge, ʒicchinde, ʒichande (also unassibilated as yckyng), from Old English ġiċċende (“itching”), from Proto-West Germanic *jukkjandi, present participle of *jukkjan (“to itch”), equivalent to itch + -ing.

From tip + -ing.

From sow ("to plant seeds") plus -ing.

From Middle English betraying, bytrayenge, betraȝyng, equivalent to betray + -ing.

From Middle English crowninge, crounende, equivalent to crown + -ing.

From Middle English wryngynge; equivalent to wring + -ing.

From the verb "rot" plus the suffix "-ing," tracing back to Old English rotian, "to decay."

By surface analysis, blind + -ing.

From rent + -ing.

From Middle English knotted, iknotted, from the past participle of the verb knotten.

From the verb "lurk," meaning to wait in hiding or move stealthily.

From Middle English clappynge; equivalent to clap + -ing.

From Old English crāwe ("crow") plus lēah ("wood, clearing").

From Latin Laurentius, the same root as English "Lawrence."

From Old English herwiþ, literally "here" plus "with."

From a Norman place name meaning "Gomeric's hill" in Old French.

From Latin Carthāgō, from Phoenician words meaning "new city."

From Scots and Northern Middle English forms of Old English eald, "old." A doublet of the standard English word old.

From the given name Matilda, from Old High German Mahthilt, "mighty in battle" — its use for a traveller's bundle comes from Australian folk usage, most famously in the song "Waltzing Matilda."