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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Coined for the Star Trek TV series as a blend suggesting a "phased energy rectifier"; it was later popularized as shorthand for any futuristic ray-gun weapon.

A blend of "grand-" and "pa," modeled on "grandfather."

Probably from a very old, child-babbling-style root shared by many languages' words for grandmother, such as Italian nonna and Welsh nain.

A blend of "grand-" and "ma," modeled on "grandmother."

From "mini-" plus "bus."

Named after the Roman statesman Cicero, because early European printers used a Latin edition of his letters as the standard text for setting this size of type.

From Old French sauve garde, literally "safe guard" — built from safe + guard.

From Old English smoþe ("smooth") plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

From un- + finished.

From empower + -ment.

From Biblical Hebrew עֵדֶן (ʿḗḏen), perhaps from Sumerian 𒂔 (edin, “steppe, garden”).

From "daunt" (to intimidate) plus the negating suffix "-less" — literally "unable to be daunted."

Ancient Greek · 1887

Coined as a trademark in 1887 by Emile Berliner from Ancient Greek gramma ("letter") and phone ("sound").

From Latin rosarium, "rose garden," reused in church Latin for a garland of prayers — the same root that gives us "rosarium."

From Old French corrosion, from Latin corrodere, "to gnaw away" — from com- ("thoroughly") plus rodere, "to gnaw".

From Latin cremare, "to burn up", first used in English in this sense in the late 19th century.

From Latin linum ("flax") plus oleum ("oil"). Coined around 1864 by English inventor Frederick Walton, whose trade name became so common it turned into an ordinary word for the product.

From "oncology" plus the agent suffix "-ist."

From Middle French interminable, from Late Latin interminabilis, built from in- ("not") plus terminable ("able to be ended").

From Latin Lucas, from Ancient Greek Λουκᾶς (Loukâs). See the Greek entry for more.

From Italian mezzanino, from mezzano ("middle"), ultimately from Latin medius ("middle").

From ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, who propose to use the currency.

From colono- (relating to the colon) plus -scopy ("viewing, examining"), from Greek skopein, "to look at."

An imitative (onomatopoeic) spelling of a natural hesitation sound.