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.

Browse etymology by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Recently added

From Latin depravare, "to distort or corrupt," from de- + pravus, "crooked, bad."

From clip + -ing.

Coined by Lewis Carroll as a blend of "miserable" and "flimsy" for his 1871 poem "Jabberwocky".

A compound of zoo and keeper — literally, one who "keeps" (looks after) the zoo's animals.

From Anglo-Norman pentiz, altered over time (by folk etymology) to resemble "house" — originally referred to a lean-to shed attached to a wall.

From Serbo-Croatian Kosovo polje ("blackbirds' field").

By surface analysis, pimp + -ing.

From "degenerate" + the adjective suffix "-ive."

Likely an imitative, repeated word mimicking rhythmic back-and-forth motion, in the same family as "teeter-totter" and "zigzag"; possibly also influenced by the verbs "see" and "saw."

From Middle English twynkelynge, equivalent to twinkle + -ing.

From Latin repulsus, past participle of repellere, "to drive back" — from re- ("back") plus pellere ("to drive").

From Latin indignitas, from indignus, "unworthy," from in- ("not") + dignus ("worthy").

Formed in the 1500s by clipping abashed and adding -ful, "full of."

From Old French caverne, from Latin caverna ("cavity, cave"), from cavus ("hollow").

Probably an alteration of lustious, from lusty ("pleasant, delicious") + -ous; Shakespeare used both lush and lusty in similar senses.

From "radio-" (relating to rays/radiation) plus "-logy" ("study of").

From "lap" (the upper legs when seated) plus "top," coined by analogy with "desktop."

From Middle English finely, fynely, fynly, fineliche, finliche, fynliche, equivalent to fine + -ly.

Borrowed from Bulgarian, ultimately from an older Slavic name.

Taken from the Russian given name Igor, which traces back to an Old Norse name meaning roughly "army of the god Yngvi"; the horror-movie stock character became so familiar that the name turned into a generic label for that role.

Coined from "dec-" ("ten") + "-athlon," modelled on "pentathlon," for the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.

From French mousse, "foam" or "froth," ultimately related to the word "moss."

From "offend" plus the agent suffix "-er" — someone who offends.

From Latin rescindere, "to cut back, tear off," from re- ("back") plus scindere ("to cut, split").