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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A compound of "side" and "bar".

Built from clue plus the suffix -less, meaning "without" — literally "without clues".

From creep + the adjective suffix -y, tracing to Old English creopan, "to crawl" — the sensation of skin crawling gave rise to the modern meaning.

From mantel + piece.

From Italian Cantalupo, a former papal estate near Rome where the melon was reportedly first grown in Europe.

From implicit + -ly.

From Sanskrit प्रकाश (prakāśa, "light").

From French sommelier, originally someone in charge of pack animals carrying supplies, later a wine steward.

From Old French desmembrer, from des- + membre ("limb").

From count + -less.

From Latin exemplaris, from exemplum, "example, sample."

A compound of back and room.

From shit plus -less, used almost exclusively in the phrase "scared shitless."

From French gentil ("noble, well-born"), from Latin gentilis — a doublet of "gentle" and "gentile".

From Russian Соня (Sonja), an informal short form of Софья (Sofia), itself from Greek sophia, "wisdom."

A rendering into English of French isolé.

From check + the agent suffix -er.

Formed from tough plus the noun-forming suffix -ness.

From Spanish baja, from bajo, from Latin bassus.

From Middle English dountreden, "to tread down" — literally trampled underfoot.

A compound of "door" and "man."

Borrowed from French chalet, originally a herdsman's hut in the mountains of the Franco-Provençal region.

From New Latin gastricus, based on the Greek word for stomach, gastḗr.

From Ancient Greek sklerosis, "hardening," from skleros, "hard."