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 Latin Seneca.

From plead + -ing.

From Old English dēoplīċe, formed from dēop ("deep") plus the adverb-forming suffix -līċe, ancestor of modern -ly.

From Old English styntan ("to make blunt"), which developed the sense of limiting or restricting something.

From legitimate plus the verb-forming suffix -ize.

Invented in 1963 by writer Terry Nation for Doctor Who; the exact inspiration is disputed, but it echoes the name of the Daleks' fictional predecessor race in the show.

From Old English prēosthād, formed from priest plus -hood, the same suffix seen in "childhood."

A variant of the older word jet, meaning to stick out or project.

From pure plus bred, the past tense of breed.

From Old English hāmstede, literally "home-place," from home + stead ("place").

From Old English sinder, meaning slag or dross; the spelling with "c" was later influenced by the unrelated French word cendre ("ashes").

Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic cnoc (“round hill”).

From Occitan mas, from Latin mansum, "a dwelling" — a doublet of the English word manse.

From Ancient Greek Gorgṓ, related to gorgós ("terrible, fierce") — likely echoing a harsh, growling sound, much like an onomatopoeia for a monster's snarl.

From Old French emerillon, "small falcon," from a Germanic root meaning the same thing — unrelated to the Arthurian wizard Merlin, which comes from a Welsh name.

From Middle French préoccupation, from Latin praeoccupatio, built from pre- plus occupation.

From Latin lupinus ("of the wolf"), possibly because the plant was thought to "wolf" nutrients from the soil, or because of the fang-like shape inside its flower.

From periphery + -al, ultimately from Greek peripherēs ("carried around, revolving").

Named after the Ritz Hotels founded by César Ritz, with the "-y" adjective ending added; compare "glitzy," coined the same way.

A back-formation from "ritzy," which itself comes from the luxurious Ritz Hotels founded by César Ritz.

"Rise" plus the agent suffix "-er," originally meaning simply "one who rises."

Borrowed from Kansa Dópik’é (“Topeka; Kansas River”, literally “place to dig good (i.e. wild) potatoes”), from do (“tuber, potato”) + pi (“to be good”) + kʼe (“to dig”).

A shortened, softened form of the old oath "od rat" — itself a disguised way of saying "God rot."

From Old English broc ("badger"), likely borrowed from an ancient Celtic word for the animal.