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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Likely an alteration of sangria

By surface analysis, sarc- + -oid.

From satire + -ise.

From scatter + -ling.

An occupational surname from Middle English, from Old English sangere (“singer”).

From Late Latin sciolus + -ist. First attested at the beginning of the 17th century.

From Latin rūgōsus (“wrinkled”).

From Sabbatarian + -ism.

From sapid + -less.

From salutatory + -an.

From Middle English seylecloth, saylclath, seil-cloþ, seil-clæð, from Old English *seġlclāþ, equivalent to sail + cloth. Cognate with West Frisian seilkleed, Dutch zeilkleed, Middle Low German sēgelklêt, sēgelkleit, seilklêt, seilkleit, German Segelkleid.

From French ruana and its etymon, Spanish ruana (“woolen fabric or garment”), of disputed origin. Suggestions include Latin rūga (“wrinkle”), Quechua ruana (“textile”), and Chibcha ruana (“land of blankets”); see Wikipedia.

Latin scientia (“knowledge”) + suffix -al.

Borrowed from Pennsylvania German rumspringe (“to jump around”). Compare German rumspringen.

From Latin salivatus, past participle of salivare (“to spit out, also salivate”), from saliva (“spittle”).

From 1964. rug + rat, presumably from crawling on the floor.

From safe (“secure container”) + breaker.

Early 17th century, borrowed from Middle French sabot (see French sabot below). Doublet of sabaton and ciabatta.

Borrowed from Narragansett sachem; compare Mi'kmaq saqamaw (“chief”) and Unami sakima (“chief”), all ultimately from Proto-Algonquian *sa·kima·wa. Doublet of sagamore.

Borrowed from Latin sabbatismus, from Ancient Greek.

From rump + -y.

From schiz(ophrenia)- + -oid, from German, from Ancient Greek σχίζω (skhízō, “to split”) and εἶδος (eîdos, “form, likeness”).

See sadomasochism.

From Middle English sapour, sapoure, from Latin sapor. Doublet of savour /savor.