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 Latin exemptio, from eximere, "to take out, free."

Borrowed from the Tibetan word for a fortress or district castle.

From George or Georgina plus the diminutive suffix -ie.

Simply worry plus the agent suffix "-er" — the person who does the worrying.

From Old English Glēawċeaster, from Latin Glēvum plus Old English ċeaster ("fort, city").

Formed from cheek (in the sense of impudence) plus the adjective-forming suffix -y.

From French citadelle, from Italian cittadella, a diminutive of città ("city"), from Latin civitas.

From introvert + -ed.

Borrowed from Japanese 曹洞.

Borrowed from German Opa, an affectionate word for grandfather.

From nano- plus technology; the term was popularised in 1986 by engineer Eric Drexler.

Inflected form of weed.

From the Greek word amnion, originally meaning a bowl used to collect sacrificial blood, later applied to the membrane surrounding an unborn animal.

From Old French flair, "scent, smell," from flairier, "to smell" — originally about a keen sense of smell before it came to mean a knack or style.

From hot + -ie.

Shortened from Old Northern French acat, "a purchase."

From Old French Alison, a diminutive of Aliz (Alice), which traces back to a Germanic name meaning "of noble kind."

From "tact" plus "-ful."

From motive + the verb-forming suffix -ate, ultimately from Latin movēre ("to move").

Formed from "pluck" (courage, nerve) plus the adjective-forming suffix "-y".

confrontational

From confrontation + -al.

From Medieval Latin confrontare, from con- ("together") + frontem ("forehead, front") — literally "to stand front-to-front with".

A compound of "day" and "time," describing the daylight portion of the 24-hour cycle.

Borrowed from Spanish corral — the same root gives Afrikaans-derived English "kraal".