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 French prospectus, borrowed directly from Latin prospectus. A doublet of "prospect."

A straightforward compound of "race" and "horse."

From French sculpter, ultimately from Latin sculpere, "to carve or cut in stone."

A noun formed from the phrasal verb "lock out".

A compound of "log" and "book," originally a record of a ship's speed and position, first recorded in the 1670s.

Probably from a Middle Low German or Dutch word meaning "to spout or burst," related to "spit."

From stop plus the agent suffix -er.

From un- + complicated.

From cardio- ("heart") plus vascular ("relating to blood vessels").

From lunch + room.

From Old French Michel, from Latin Michaël, borrowed from Greek Mikhael, ultimately from Hebrew meaning "who is like God?"

From tease plus the agent suffix "-er," originally someone or something that teases; the "preview trailer" sense developed in 20th-century advertising and film marketing.

From supposed + -ly.

From architecture plus the adjective-forming suffix -al, ultimately from Greek arkhitekton, "chief builder."

By surface analysis, amuse + -ing.

Borrowed via Portuguese from Old Tupi ingá, a name from Indigenous Brazilian languages.

From horrible + -ly.

A shortening of "Telecaster".

From scuttle ("to cut a hole in") + butt ("wooden cask"). Sailors gathered around the ship's water cask to drink and gossip, similar to the modern "water cooler talk."

From Arabic عَبَّاس (ʕabbās), roughly "one who frowns often" or "stern lion", from عَبَسَ (ʕabasa), "to frown".

Borrowed from the Bambara word kɔ́ra, the name used for the instrument in Mali and neighbouring countries.

Modeled after MAGA. Popularized by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in 2024 (after endorsing Donald Trump) but earlier uses exist.

The membrane sense comes from Latin pia mater, literally "tender mother."

From Middle English susterhede, from sister plus -hood.