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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A compound of "slip" and "stream," describing the flow of air left behind a moving object.

A diminutive formed from names like Constance or Constantine with the affectionate "-ie" ending.

From screw + -y. Originally (1820s) meant "tipsy," and only later, by the 1880s, came to mean "crazy" or "odd."

A simple compound of ant and hill, going back to Old English forms of the same two words.

A dialectal respelling of "nigger" reflecting African American Vernacular English pronunciation, which took on a distinct, partly reclaimed meaning separate from the original slur.

From snap + the agent suffix -er, originally meaning "one that snaps or bites."

From battle + field.

From Anglo-Norman desleal/desloial, formed from dis- + loyal.

From Latin Iudaea, from Greek Ioudaia, ultimately from Hebrew Yehuda.

From the verb "hoke" (to fake something up for effect), itself from "hokum."

Formed from choke plus the -ing ending.

An imitative (onomatopoeic) word, mimicking the short electronic beep of the sound or signal it describes.

Origin uncertain; the adjective sense may derive from "shand" ("worthless"), possibly via Romani.

A clipped, altered form of "university," reflecting an old British pronunciation. First recorded in the mid-1600s.

A blend of "darnation" and "tarnal" (itself from "eternal"), used as a softened alternative to "damnation."

Related to Low German words for "knot" or "lump," and to the English word "knob."

From "pay" plus "phone."

A straightforward compound of "town" and "house," describing a house built for town living rather than the countryside.

A straightforward compound of "brown" and "stone", describing both the material and, later, the houses built from it.

First recorded around 1820; possible sources include "beak" (nose), French beaucoup, or "poke" (as in poking one's nose in).

From "bed" plus "pan," describing what it is used for.

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

From mis- + information.

As a nickname, an informal short form of Amanda; as a language name, borrowed separately from Hindi and other source languages.