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 snow + fall.

The unit of weight traces back through French and Ottoman Turkish to an old word for a small measure, and is a distant relative of "ounce" and "inch."

From cream + -y, "having the quality of cream."

British slang first recorded around 1941, possibly imitating the sound of distant bombs during wartime.

Borrowed from Korean gimchi, from words meaning "soaked" and "vegetable" — literally, fermented vegetables.

Built from "spoke" (past participle of "speak") plus "man" — literally "one who has spoken for others."

Originally a diminutive of Jock (itself a Scots form of "John"), used generically for horse-dealers and riders from the 16th century onward.

From Prussia plus the adjective ending -an.

From Latin iniectio, "a throwing in," from inicere, "to throw into."

From disable plus the noun-forming suffix -ity, first recorded around 1570.

A compound of post (mail) and mark.

The "move about quickly" sense is old English dialect, probably related to words for hurrying. The "rebut line by line" sense is much newer internet slang, named after journalist Robert Fisk, whose articles were famously picked apart this way by online critics.

A compound of time + piece.

Origin uncertain, possibly linked to a Middle Low German word for a horn or conical bag, or alternatively borrowed from a Bantu language word meaning "to carry" or "to pick up."

Borrowed from Latin tunica via Middle French tunique; the word also existed in Old English as tunece.

From Latin discriminare, "to divide, distinguish," from discrimen, "a dividing line" — from discernere, "to separate, discern."

From Latin coitus, "a coming together," from coire, "to go together."

From Old English cursung, the noun form of curse.

From Latin sanctus ("holy") plus facere ("to make") — literally "to make holy."

An American English variant pronunciation of curse.

From Greek blásphēmos, "uttering ill-omened words," via Latin, plus the adjective suffix "-ous."

From oversee + the agent suffix -er.

From Middle English supervisor, from Latin supervideo, from super- + videre ("to see"); by surface analysis, supervise + -or.

Originally a diminutive of the name Bridget, which became a generic nickname for Irish maidservants in the United States, and later shifted to mean any old woman.