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
Latin
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
Jurisdiction
From Latin iurisdictio, built from ius, law, and dictio, saying or declaration.
Latin iurisdictio → French juridiction → English
Originally meant:
declaring the law
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Changes every week
Latin 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.
Latin
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Vocabulary
From Medieval Latin vocabularium, a list or collection of words, from vocabulum, word or name.
Latin
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Linguistics
Built from Latin lingua, tongue or language, with a modern scholarly suffix.
Latin
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Computer
From Latin computare, meaning to calculate or reckon together.
Latin
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Data
The plural of Latin datum, meaning something given.
Latin
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Medicine
From Latin medicina, the healing art or medical practice.
Latin
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Affidavit
From Medieval Latin affidavit, meaning he or she has sworn.
Latin
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Quantum
From Latin quantum, meaning how much or an amount.
Latin
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Evidence
From Latin evidentia, meaning clarity or obviousness.
Latin
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Subpoena
From Latin sub poena, meaning under penalty.
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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Why Economics Borrowed Words from Households, Physics and Biology
Economics began with a word about household management and later borrowed equilibrium, elasticity, growth and other metaphors from the physical and living worlds.
Etymology
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Why Weather Words Come from Sailors, Farmers and Scientists
Weather vocabulary combines old farming words, maritime observation, borrowed storm names and modern scientific terminology.
Etymology
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From Alchemy to Chemistry: How Old Words Survived a Scientific Revolution
Chemistry did not begin with a clean vocabulary. Modern scientific language grew out of alchemy, craft traditions, Arabic scholarship and early modern attempts to standa…
Etymology
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From Atomos to Quantum: How Physics Names the Invisible
Physics repeatedly names things before scientists fully understand them. Atom, electron, photon and quantum preserve earlier theories, metaphors and linguistic choices.
Etymology
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Why Rhetoric Has Greek Names for Things We Do Every Day
Anaphora, antithesis, hyperbole, ethos and other rhetorical terms give technical names to patterns people use naturally in speeches, stories, arguments and jokes.