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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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

From advise plus the ending -ory.

Borrowed from Italian cannoli, the plural of cannolo.

A direct translation of a Canadian French phrase meaning "bad lands to cross," itself borrowed from a Lakota phrase describing land that was difficult to travel through.

A compound of court and house.

From re- + assurance.

From on + stage.

From night + stick, referring to its use by officers on night patrol.

From Old English nihtsceada, from night + shade, likely referring to the plant's dark berries or its use in causing drowsiness or hallucination.

From night + gown.

From neuro- ("nerve") plus surgeon.

From Spanish vamos, "let's go".

Named after John Harvard, an English clergyman whose bequest helped found the college in 1638.

From Sanskrit राजीव (rājīva, "lotus flower").

Formed from the phrasal verb "shoot out."

From "heavy" plus the noun-forming suffix "-ness."

From Spanish río ("river") plus the diminutive suffix -ito, literally "little river"; the weaving sense comes from a separate Pacific-region usage.

Likely from an unrecorded Old English "*norþwesterne," combining "north" and "western."

A compound of men + wear.

From neuro- ("nerve") plus surgery.

From Old English strǣt (“road”) + ford (“ford”). Doublet of Stretford.

From ow + the informal suffix -ie, which turns words into casual, often childlike forms.

The given name was popularized by the 1984 film Splash, taking its name from Madison Avenue in Manhattan; the cycling race and place names trace to the surname Madison, itself from "Mathieson".

Borrowed from Italian polenta, from Latin polenta, referring to a coarse grain porridge.