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 Arabic hafiz ("guardian, one who preserves"), from hafiza ("to guard, to memorize").

Borrowed from Mandarin jīng.

From Hebrew אֶפְרַיִם (Efráyim, “Ephraim”, literally “fruitful”), via Latin.

From Middle English witter, witer, of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse vitr (“wise, knowing”), from Proto-Germanic *witraz (“knowing”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to know”). Cognate with Icelandic vitur (“wise”). More at wit, wis.

From Ancient Greek Îsis, itself borrowed from the Egyptian name of the goddess.

From Late Latin Hōrus, from Ancient Greek Ὧρος (Hôros), from Egyptian ḥr.

From Old French humble, from Latin humilis ("low, lowly"), from humus ("ground, earth") — the same root behind humiliate.

From Portuguese or Spanish Eduardo.

From Middle English fard, feard, ferd, ferde, fered, equivalent to fear + -ed.

From the common word "pool".

From Celtic *Durno-wāriā (Latin Durnovāria) + Old English ċeaster ("fort, Roman town").

From Old English suth ("south") and Hamtun, the earlier name of the settlement.

From Old English Portesmuða, literally "the mouth of the harbor."

From the French form of the Late Latin saint's name Natalia, from nātālis (diēs) (“birthday [of Christ], Christmas”). Doublet of Natalya.

Possibly derived from "row," in the sense of a noisy argument.

From New Latin latex, itself from an earlier Latin word for "liquid" or "fluid".

From Latin adorabilis ("worthy of adoration"), from adorare ("to adore").

From admitted + the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

From purposeful plus the adverb suffix -ly.

Sanskrit · 1800

Borrowed from Hindi gāñjā, ultimately from Sanskrit gañjā ("hemp"); it entered English use around 1800.

Borrowed from Spanish Andes, possibly traceable to the Quechua word anti, meaning "east."

From Old English placename Hrōdanīeġ, Hrōdanīġ (literally “Hroda's island”), from Proto-Germanic *hrōþiz (“fame”) and *awjō (“island”).

Popular saints' name in the Eastern Orthodox Church, feminine of Latin Tatiānus, from Tatius (a Roman family name of obscure origin) + -ānus. Modern English usage is derived from Russian Татья́на (Tatʹjána).

From Ancient Greek stephanos, meaning "crown" or "wreath" — the same root as the English word "Stephen."