Start with the source
The source language tells you where the earliest recorded form came from, such as Latin, Greek, Old English or French.
Etymology and word history
Featured word history
Every word has travelled.
Discover where English words began, what they once meant and how they changed as they moved between languages, places and generations.
37
words with recorded origins
4
source languages represented
37
entries with literal meanings
Law
From Old English lagu, borrowed from Old Norse lag, something laid down or fixed.
Old Norse lag → Old English lagu → modern English law
Originally meant:
something laid down
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Changes every week
Featured word histories
Each entry shows more than a source language. Follow how a word changed in form and meaning before becoming part of modern English.
Ancient Greek
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Phoneme
Formed from Greek phone, sound or voice, with the linguistic suffix -eme.
Ancient Greek
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Anatomy
From Greek anatomē, meaning dissection, built from elements meaning up or through and cutting.
Arabic
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Algorithm
Named through Medieval Latin forms of the name of the mathematician al-Khwarizmi.
Latin
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Vocabulary
From Medieval Latin vocabularium, a list or collection of words, from vocabulum, word or name.
Ancient Greek
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Mathematics
From Greek mathematike, relating to learning, from mathema, knowledge or lesson.
Ancient Greek
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Economics
Connected with Greek oikonomia, the management of a household or estate.
Latin
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Linguistics
Built from Latin lingua, tongue or language, with a modern scholarly suffix.
Ancient Greek
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Rhetoric
From Greek rhetorike, the art associated with public speaking or oratory.
Ancient Greek
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Analysis
From Greek analysis, meaning a loosening or breaking up, later used for examining parts.
Ancient Greek
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Pragmatics
From Greek pragma, deed or thing done, through later philosophical and linguistic use.
Latin
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Jurisdiction
From Latin iurisdictio, built from ius, law, and dictio, saying or declaration.
How to read an origin
Follow the journey, not only the starting point.
Etymology becomes useful when you separate where a word began, how it entered English and how its meaning changed afterwards.
Trace the route
Many words reached English through another language. The route explains the stages rather than jumping straight to today.
Compare the meaning
A literal or earlier meaning reveals what changed, what stayed and why the modern word may carry several shades of meaning.
Explore connected words
Words that share a root or family.
These collections bring related words together, making it easier to see how one root can grow into many modern meanings.
Shared origin
6 connected words
Greek roots that connect words
Word families connected by Greek roots used across science and everyday English.
Shared origin
7 connected words
Greek roots in science
Scientific words connected by reusable Greek roots.
Shared origin
8 connected words
Latin legal vocabulary
Latin expressions and roots that remain important in legal English.
Shared origin
8 connected words
Old Norse words in everyday English
Common English words shaped by contact with Old Norse.
Featured origin story
How Greek Roots Unlock Medical Vocabulary
Greek roots reveal the body part, condition or procedure inside many medical terms. Learn common forms and practise breaking down words such as gastroenteritis and neuropathy.
Take the longer route
Explore the people, languages and historical changes behind a group of words rather than reading one entry in isolation.
Read the featured article
Etymology
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How English Borrows Words and Makes Them Its Own
English vocabulary grew through contact with Norse, French, Latin, Greek and languages worldwide. Borrowed words change pronunciation, spelling and meaning until they be…
Etymology
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How Arabic Changed the Language of Mathematics
Algebra, algorithm, cipher and zero carry the history of mathematical knowledge moving from India through the Arabic-speaking scholarly world into medieval Europe.
Etymology
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Why Legal English Is Full of French and Latin
English law developed in a multilingual world. Old English, Latin and Law French left overlapping layers that still shape words such as verdict, tort, estate, plaintiff…
Etymology
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Why Medicine Speaks Greek, Latin and Everyday English
Modern medical English contains ancient Greek, Latin, Arabic-mediated scholarship and ordinary English. The layers explain both the precision and the strangeness of medi…