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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Invented by the author Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912 for his fiction.

Formed in English from suicide plus the adjective ending -al.

From communicate + -ing.

Named after the stage adaptation of George du Maurier's novel Trilby, in which characters wore this style of hat.

Borrowed from Swedish Sven.

From overflow + -ing.

From conceivable plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

A blend of "man" and "nanny," coined to describe male childcare workers.

A clipped form of "dreadlock".

From sustainable plus the ending -ity, itself from sustain.

From meat plus the adjective suffix -y.

From Middle English alacke, likely a blend of "ah" and "lack" (in the old sense of "loss" or "failure").

A 1940s trade name built from parts of "tetrafluoroethylene", modelled after other material names like nylon.

The planetoid was named after the Akkadian goddess, which began with the same first letter as the provisional designation 2002 AW₁₉₇.

From Middle French matrimonial, from matrimony plus the adjective suffix -al.

From French locomotif, built from Latin locō ("from a place") and a Latin-derived word for "moving." Originally a general adjective for anything self-propelling, it narrowed to mean the train engine specifically from around 1814.

From an English dialect word "kipper" meaning nimble or frisky, of uncertain deeper origin.

From the 1966 US Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona, which established the requirement.

From Ancient Greek Καλλιστώ (Kallistṓ).

From brain + wave.

From Old French forcible, from forcier ("to conquer by force"), plus the suffix -ible.

From Old English grot, related to words for grit and grout — small, coarse particles.

From "bull's eye" — possibly from the old practice of English archers testing their skill by shooting an arrow through the eye socket of a bull's skull.

From the phrasal verb fall back, meaning to retreat to a secondary position.