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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Borrowed from Italian zabaglione, zabaione, possibly from Latin sabaia (“Illyrian barley beer”) (from an Illyrian word probably from Proto-Indo-European *sab- (“taste”)) + -one (augmentative suffix).

From wing + girl, modelled off of earlier wingman.

From youth + -en.

From Middle English wodebynd, wodebynde, from Old English wudubind, wudubinde (“woodbine”), equivalent to wood + bine.

Borrowed from German Wilhelmstraße, from the name of Prussian King Frederick William I (Friedrich Wilhelm I.) + Straße (“street”).

From work + book.

From worry + -ful.

From Middle English worldlynesse, equivalent to worldly + -ness. Compare West Frisian wrâldlikens (“worldliness”), German Weltlichkeit (“worldliness”), Swedish världslighet (“worldliness”).

From zero + -s- + -ville.

From un- + qualify.

From un- + encumbered.

From wake + -less.

From or formed like (post-Classical?) Latin urticatus, from Latin urtīca (“nettle”).

From Middle English witbeam, equivalent to white + beam (“tree”) – see Old English bēam (“tree”). In the name, white refers to the color of the leaves, when emergent and later the undersides.

From un- + misleading.

From Walter + -son.

Borrowed from Jamaican Creole wah gwan (literally “wha’ goi’ on”), a modified form of English what's going on.

From Middle French utile, from Old French utele, from Latin ūtilis.

From Japanese VIPPER (VIPPER), from /vip/ internet forum board.

From un- + heinous.

From un- + eye + -able.

From Middle English unjustice, equivalent to un- + justice; compare unjust, injustice.

From un- + stow.

Deverbal from white out.