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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From under- plus wood.

Borrowed from German Wotan. Doublet of Woden and Odin.

From Middle English sawyer, formed from "saw" plus the occupational ending "-yer."

From "defeat" plus the suffix -ist, modelled on French défaitiste, a term first used to describe those who wanted to give up during wartime.

From Middle English falsly, falsliche, equivalent to false + -ly.

From Middle English *rustlynge, rustland, from Old English hrīstlende, *hrȳstlende, present participle of Old English *hrȳstlan (“to rustle”), equivalent to rustle + -ing.

From Old English rihtfull, formed from right plus -ful.

From Middle English nobely, formed from "noble" plus the adverb ending "-ly."

From supply + -er.

From store plus room.

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin name Dàlì.

From earth plus -y.

Formed from glare plus the suffix -ing.

Borrowed from French coq, meaning "rooster" — the same word that gives English "coq au vin."

From Late Latin Clēmēns, meaning "merciful," the name of early saints and popes.

From hit + -er (agent noun suffix) or -er (measurement suffix).

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

From Middle English blaknesse, built from black plus -ness.

From nervous + the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

A marketing coinage.

First recorded in English around 1796, built from "ideal" plus the suffix "-ism".

From Middle English scracchen, probably a blend of two older English words that both meant \"to scratch.\"

From Middle English attentifly, attentifli, equivalent to attentive + -ly.

From Middle English pety cote, literally a "small/petty coat" — originally a short undergarment, later the flouncy underskirt sense took over.