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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The feminine form of sorcerer, from Anglo-Norman sorceresse.

Clipping of Beatrice or Beatrix + -s (hypocoristic suffix).

From super- + star.

From Old English drenc, meaning a drink or dose of medicine — related to the word "drink."

From "perma-" (permanent) + "frost."

From Japanese kei (軽), meaning "light" or "lightweight", shortened from keijidōsha ("light automobile").

Formed from painless plus -ly.

From Middle English painles, from pain plus the suffix -less ("without").

From the trade name used in the Spanish saffron industry to rank quality tiers; not related to the Portuguese/Spanish word "río" meaning "river."

From Sanskrit पूजा (pūjā), "reverence or worship."

From douche plus bag; the insult sense developed in the mid-20th century.

From smoke plus screen.

From the verb gruel, meaning to exhaust or punish, itself derived from the noun gruel.

From French victimologie, formed from victim plus -ology, "the study of."

From story plus teller.

Borrowed from Russian ер or ерь, the traditional names for these old Cyrillic letters.

From the Middle English occupational surname for a tiler, someone who laid roof or floor tiles.

From mountaineer + -ing.

From mountain + -eer.

From mis- ("wrongly") plus treat.

Formed from ir- ("not") plus responsible.

From grub plus -y, originally suggesting something infested with grubs, later coming to mean simply dirty.

Borrowed from Spanish Peralta.

From "six" plus "pence."