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.

Browse etymology by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Recently added

Borrowed from French chorégraphie, from Ancient Greek khoreía ("dance") plus -graphia ("writing, recording").

A compound of "book" and "shop."

From Greek Thêbai — the Greek and Egyptian cities share the English name but developed it from unrelated original words.

A spelling of Catherine influenced by the mistaken belief that it came from the Greek word katharos, meaning "pure."

An English form of the Irish name Caitlín, which itself comes from Catherine.

Ancient Greek · 1800

A diminutive of Dorothy in use since the early 1800s, from Ancient Greek doron, "gift."

Borrowed directly from the Japanese term seki.

From Old French bodne, ultimately of uncertain origin, possibly linked to a root meaning "bottom" or "base."

From country + man.

From French compatriote, built from com- ("together") plus patriote ("patriot").

From disinfect plus the suffix -ant ("agent that does something"), following the French désinfectant.

From "assort" plus the noun suffix "-ment".

From Latin ascensio, "a climbing up," from ascendere ("to ascend").

A straightforward compound of ant and eater — an animal that eats ants.

From combat plus the adjective suffix -ive.

From "boy" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-ish."

From Middle English brestplate, a compound of breast and plate.

From Anglo-Norman asetz ("enough"), originally used in the singular sense of "enough to cover debts" before being reanalyzed as a plural.

Originally a literal large wagon that carried a band in a parade; political candidates would ride on one to draw a crowd, and by the late 1800s "jump on the bandwagon" came to mean joining whatever side looked set to win.

Formed as a back-formation from "scavenger."

From bass + the agent suffix -ist.

Borrowed from Italian scampi, the plural of scampo, "prawn."

A straightforward combination of "sauce" and "pan," describing a pan originally used for making sauces.

Informal shortening of "homeboy/homegirl", built from home + the affectionate suffix -ie.