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 French passable, built from "pass" plus the suffix -able, "able to be."

From bear (to endure) + the suffix -able.

From Middle English moderately, moderatelye, moderatliche, moderatly, modiratli; equivalent to moderate + -ly.

Built from respect plus the suffix -ability, following the pattern of turning an adjective (respectable) into an abstract noun.

From Middle English forms combining "road" and "way" — literally "a way for riding."

From Ancient Greek Λυδία (Ludía), referring to the region of Lydia; the given name originally marked someone from that region.

From Old Norse Týr, from Proto-Germanic *Tīwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *dyew- (“god”). Doublet of Tiw.

From Latin replicare, "to fold back" — from re- ("back") plus plicare ("to fold"), the same root behind "reply" and "replica."

From Latin nimbus, meaning "dark cloud." The rain-cloud sense was formalized in 1803 by the British meteorologist Luke Howard when he devised the modern system of cloud names.

Named after the Scottish-Australian scientist John Macadam by botanist Ferdinand von Mueller, who first classified the plant in 1857.

From Middle English narowly, formed from narrow plus "-ly".

Origin uncertain — possibly a twist on "goblin," though the word only became widely known after Roald Dahl's 1943 story The Gremlins, about mischievous creatures sabotaging RAF planes.

Literally "mad head" — from mad plus an old informal word for "head", cap.

From Old English ofersteppan, literally "to step over," built from over- + step.

From iron plus clad ("clothed, covered") — literally "covered in iron," originally describing armored warships.

From Latin obitus, "a going down, death," from obire, "to go down, to die."

A reshaping of an Algonquian word (related to Cree and Ojibwe terms for "fisher," a different animal) that was later mistakenly attached to the groundhog because it sounded similar.

By surface analysis, crush + -ing.

From French logistique, coined around 1830 by Antoine-Henri Jomini from logis ("lodging"), originally referring to the organisation of troop quarters and supplies.

From Latin īnstīgātor (“stimulator”), from īnstīgāre (present infinitive of īnstīgō (“to incite, set on, stimulate, rouse or urge”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to be sharp, to stab; to puncture; to goad”)) + -or (from -ō (suffix forming masculine agent nouns), from Proto-Indo-European *-h₃onh₂- (suffix forming nouns denoting authority or burden)); cognate with French instigateur. By surface analysis, instigate + -or.

From French depressif or Medieval Latin depressivus, built on depress + -ive.

From Old French pitance, from Medieval Latin pietantia, related to Latin pietas ("piety") — originally referring to a small charitable food allowance given to monks.

Borrowed from the Yoruba word irú.

From un- ("not") plus savory, "having a pleasant taste."