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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Related to Old English tættec, meaning a torn scrap or rag.

A compound of life + line, originally describing a literal rope that could save someone from drowning.

From Old English stān ("stone") + ford, describing a stony river crossing. The university was named after Leland Stanford Jr., son of the railroad magnate who founded it in his memory.

A diminutive of "bird," with the golf sense dating to early 1900s American slang for a particularly good shot.

From Latin perceptivus, related to percipere, "to perceive".

From Medieval Latin prosecutor, from prosequor ("to pursue"), the same Latin root behind "prosecute."

From suspicious plus the ending -ly.

From Middle English dounright, from doun ("down") plus right, originally meaning "straight down" before shifting to mean "utterly" or "plainly."

Plural of bygone (noun).

From cater plus the agent suffix -er.

From Old French proesce, "excellence, bravery," from preu, "brave, excellent" — related to English proud.

Borrowed via Latin Osiris from Ancient Greek Ósīris, itself adapted from the Egyptian name wsjr.

Anglicized from French Madeleine, ultimately from the Greek name Magdalene.

A Latinized form of the French surname Cauvin, originally a nickname for a bald man.

From French repartie, from repartir, "to retort quickly."

From son + the diminutive/familiar suffix -y.

From Old English twinclian ("to twinkle"), built from an older word for winking or blinking plus a suffix suggesting repeated small movements.

From Anglo-Norman confessour, from Latin cōnfessor, related to cōnfiteor ("to confess").

From rescue plus the agent ending -er.

From an old word "tweeze," meaning a small case for tools, which traces back through French étui ("case") to Latin — the same root that gives us the idea of something small and enclosed.

Likely a misreading or reshaping of the Scots word "tweel" (a type of woven cloth), possibly influenced by the name of the River Tweed in Scotland.

From Latin canistrum, a woven basket, borrowed into Middle English as canustyr.

From "turn" plus "stile" (a step or gate for crossing a fence), describing a stile that rotates.

Formed from "cross" plus "road."