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 "diligent" plus the adverb-forming suffix "-ly".

Named after Calicut (Kozhikode), the Indian port city from which the cloth was originally exported to Europe.

From enforce plus the agent-forming suffix -er.

Curiously, this word has two opposite ancestors that collided into one spelling: an Old English word for "pale, shining" and its near-opposite, an Old English word for "black." Both fed into Middle English "blake."

From freak + -ish.

From Old English words for "king's town" or "king's manor," reflecting a settlement historically tied to the crown; many places worldwide named Kingston were named after this English original or after people surnamed King.

From Arabic Ammān.

Classical Persian

From Classical Persian بَاکُو (bākū). For further etymology, see Baku on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

From Old English roots meaning "horseman" or "groom" — a henchman originally led a nobleman's horse before the word shifted to mean a trusted attendant, and later a criminal's enforcer.

From Urdu, meaning "city of Islam" — combining Islam with -abad, a Persian suffix meaning "town" or "city."

From Spanish nao.

From Vietnamese Sài Gòn, the city's original name.

From Russian Минск (Minsk) or Belarusian Мінск (Minsk).

From Middle English comoner, built from common + the agent suffix -er.

From the trademark Kleenex, registered by the company now known as Kimberly-Clark in the mid-1920s. The name blends "clean" with the suffix seen in brand names like "Cutex."

From Old French berfroi, "movable siege tower," itself from a Germanic word related to "barrow" and "peace/protection." The spelling shifted from ber- to bel- because people wrongly linked it to the word "bell."

A straightforward compound of "mind" and "set" — literally how your mind is "set" or oriented.

From mental + -ity.

Borrowed from Spanish Ignacio. This surname is mostly found in the Philippines.

From "chalk" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-y."

From Middle English immevable, immoveable; im- + movable.

From Middle English stunnyng, stunnynge, stounyng, equivalent to stun + -ing.

The present-participle form of "kick," used as both a verb form and an adjective for ongoing energy or vitality.

Late Latin · 1181

From Late Latin Franciscānus, from Franciscus (Saint Francis of Assisi, born around 1181).