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
Ancient Greek
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
Democracy
From Greek demokratia, built from demos, people, and kratos, power or rule.
Greek demokratia → French and English
Originally meant:
rule by the people
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Changes every week
Ancient Greek 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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Philosophy
From Greek philosophia, built from philos, loving, and sophia, wisdom.
Ancient Greek
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Pragmatics
From Greek pragma, deed or thing done, through later philosophical and linguistic use.
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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Rhetoric
From Greek rhetorike, the art associated with public speaking or oratory.
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.
Ancient Greek
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Anatomy
From Greek anatomē, meaning dissection, built from elements meaning up or through and cutting.
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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Thesis
From Greek thesis, meaning a placing, position or proposition.
Ancient Greek
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Etymology
From Greek etymon, true sense, and logia, study or account.
Ancient Greek
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Lexicon
From Greek lexikon, relating to words, from lexis, word or speech.
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.
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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…