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 Old English clīfan, "to cleave or stick fast", from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to stick or adhere" — related to modern cleave and to German kleben ("to stick").

Built from the archaic word grue, meaning "to shudder with fear," plus the suffix -some; the word was popularized in the early 19th century partly through the novels of Walter Scott.

The sandwich's exact origin is disputed, but it's widely linked to early 20th-century American delis and named after a customer or chef called Reuben.

Origin uncertain, possibly an alteration of an older word grum with a similar meaning.

From Yiddish goy, borrowed from Hebrew goi, which originally just meant "nation" and came to refer to non-Jewish peoples.

From Svengali, the hypnotist character who controls a young singer in George du Maurier's 1894 novel Trilby.

From Middle English retencioun, borrowed from Latin retentiō, retentiōnis, from retentus, the perfect passive participle of retineō (“retain”) (from re- (“back, again”) + teneō (“hold, keep”)).

From base + -less, "without a base."

From Middle English distraught, a blend of distract (in an older sense meaning "pulled apart mentally") and straught, an old past participle of stretch — so originally something like "stretched to breaking point."

From pin + point, literally "the point of a pin" — used figuratively for extreme precision.

From the trademarked software Adobe Photoshop, whose name became so common it turned into an everyday verb.

From Spanish sangría, itself from sangre, "blood", after the drink's deep red colour.

dissatisfaction

From dis- ("not") + satisfaction.

From Latin cucurbita, via Old French, and a doublet of the word "cucurbit".

From Middle English berded, either from Old English ġebearded or formed anew in Middle English; by surface analysis, beard + -ed. Compare Dutch bebaarde (“bearded”), Middle Low German bārt (“bearded”), archaic German gebartet (“bearded”).

From Old French assignement, from "assign" plus the noun suffix "-ment".

From French trousseau, a diminutive of trousse, "bundle" — literally a "little bundle" of belongings.

From the stage name of the Victorian entertainer "Little Tich," known for his small stature.

From Old English þorniġ, built from thorn plus the adjective-forming suffix -y.

A straightforward compound of tail and light.

Origin uncertain — possibly named after Theodore Gurney, credited with patenting a similar wheeled cab design in the 1880s.

Borrowed from Italian terra ("earth") + cotta ("baked") — literally "baked earth."

From French roan, likely from a Spanish word ultimately tracing back to a Germanic root for "red."

Borrowed from Norwegian.