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 show + stopper.

From Middle English blodhound, a compound of "blood" and "hound" — likely referring to the dog's skill at tracking blood trails from wounded game.

From French mandoline, from Italian mandolino, a diminutive of mandola, an older stringed instrument.

From Latin peregrinus, "foreign, coming from abroad" — the same root that gives us "pilgrim".

From colonial plus -ism, following the pattern of naming political systems and ideologies.

A compound of "door" and "step."

From Latin inhibitio, "a holding back," built from the verb inhibere, "to restrain."

By surface analysis, dive + -ing.

From play + station; the name was coined by Sony for its console line.

From Latin detectio, from detegere, "to uncover".

Named for its short, "bobbed" tail plus cat.

From Latin immigrans, "migrating into," from in- ("into") plus migrare ("to migrate").

From conceit plus the adjective-forming suffix -ed.

From collect + -ed.

From collect + -ing.

From "dwell" plus the agent suffix "-er," meaning "one who dwells."

From French rampe, related to ramper, "to crawl or climb" — the same root that gives us "rampant."

From Middle English cominge, comynge, comande, from Old English cumende, from Proto-Germanic *kwemandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *kwemaną (“to come”), equivalent to come + -ing (present participle ending). Cognate with Dutch komend (“coming”), German kommend (“coming”), Swedish kommande (“coming”), Icelandic komandi (“coming”).

From Old English godlīċ ("godlike"), with un- added — the informal "extreme/outrageous" sense developed later in English.

Borrowed from Middle French délinquant, ultimately from Latin delinquens, present participle of delinquo.

From French marinade, built on "marine" (of the sea) plus the suffix "-ade," since early versions used seawater or brine.

First recorded in an 1866 San Francisco newspaper describing a "Hoodlum Gang" of young thieves; the exact origin is debated, with theories ranging from German dialect words for "ragamuffin" to a garbled gang call.

Formed from "bitch" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-y".

Origin uncertain — possibly linked to dialectal English "game" (meaning lame) or to Welsh cam ("crooked").