Etymonline - Online Etymology Dictionary
The online etymology dictionary (etymonline) is the internet's go-to source for quick and reliable accounts of the origin and history of English words, phrases, and idioms. It is professional enough to satisfy academic standards, but accessible enough to be used by anyone.
etymology | Etymology of etymology by etymonline
Jul 17, 2024 · As "an account of the particular history of a word" from mid-15c. As practised by Socrates in the Cratylus, etymology involves a claim about the underlying semantic content of the name, what it really means or indicates.
word | Etymology of word by etymonline
Aug 4, 2022 · word. (n.) Old English word "speech, talk, utterance, sentence, statement, news, report, word," from Proto-Germanic *wurda- (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian word, Dutch woord, Old High German, German wort, Old Norse orð, Gothic waurd), from PIE *were- (3) "speak, say" (see verb).
A Word or Two - Etymonline
Etymology is the study of the origin of words and how the meaning of words has changed over the course of history.
origin | Etymology of origin by etymonline
Jan 24, 2020 · original. early 14c., "first in time, earliest," from Old French original "first" (13c.) and directly from Latin originalis, from originem (nominative origo) "beginning, source, birth," from oriri "to rise" (see origin). The first reference is to sin, synne original, "innate depravity of m.
dictionary | Etymology of dictionary by etymonline
Aug 19, 2018 · The Medieval Latin word is said to have been first used by Johannes de Garlandia (John of Garland) as the title of a Latin vocabulary published c. 1220. Probably first English use in title of a book was in Sir Thomas Elyot's "Latin Dictionary" (1538). As an adjective, "of or pertaining to a dictionary," from 1630s.
of | Etymology of of by etymonline
Feb 2, 2024 · Old English of, unstressed form of æf (prep., adv.) "away, away from," from Proto-Germanic *af (source also of Old Norse af, Old Frisian af, of "of," Dutch af "off, down," German ab "off, from, down"), from PIE root *apo- "off, away." Compare off (prep.).
history | Etymology of history by etymonline
Thus it is related etymologically to Greek idein "to see," eidenai "to know," and to idea and vision. Beekes writes of histōr that "The word itself, but especially the derivations ... that arose in Ionic, have spread over the Hellenic and Hellenistic world together with Ionic science and philosophy."
the | Etymology of the by etymonline
Mar 13, 2024 · Old English used 10 different words for "the," but did not distinguish "the" from "that." That survived for a time as a definite article before vowels (that one or that other).
about | Etymology of about by etymonline
Jul 28, 2023 · Abouts (late 14c.), with adverbial genitive, still found in hereabouts, etc., probably is a northern dialectal form. To bring about "cause or effect" and to come about "happen" are from late 14c. About face as a military command (short for right about face) is first attested 1861, American English.