Word related to english

Below is a massive list of english words — that is, words related to english. The top 4 are: french, british, spanish and american. You can get the definition(s) of a word in the list below by tapping the question-mark icon next to it. The words at the top of the list are the ones most associated with english, and as you go down the relatedness becomes more slight. By default, the words are sorted by relevance/relatedness, but you can also get the most common english terms by using the menu below, and there’s also the option to sort the words alphabetically so you can get english words starting with a particular letter. You can also filter the word list so it only shows words that are also related to another word of your choosing. So for example, you could enter «french» and click «filter», and it’d give you words that are related to english and french.

You can highlight the terms by the frequency with which they occur in the written English language using the menu below. The frequency data is extracted from the English Wikipedia corpus, and updated regularly. If you just care about the words’ direct semantic similarity to english, then there’s probably no need for this.

There are already a bunch of websites on the net that help you find synonyms for various words, but only a handful that help you find related, or even loosely associated words. So although you might see some synonyms of english in the list below, many of the words below will have other relationships with english — you could see a word with the exact opposite meaning in the word list, for example. So it’s the sort of list that would be useful for helping you build a english vocabulary list, or just a general english word list for whatever purpose, but it’s not necessarily going to be useful if you’re looking for words that mean the same thing as english (though it still might be handy for that).

If you’re looking for names related to english (e.g. business names, or pet names), this page might help you come up with ideas. The results below obviously aren’t all going to be applicable for the actual name of your pet/blog/startup/etc., but hopefully they get your mind working and help you see the links between various concepts. If your pet/blog/etc. has something to do with english, then it’s obviously a good idea to use concepts or words to do with english.

If you don’t find what you’re looking for in the list below, or if there’s some sort of bug and it’s not displaying english related words, please send me feedback using this page. Thanks for using the site — I hope it is useful to you! 🐅

That’s about all the english related words we’ve got! I hope this list of english terms was useful to you in some way or another. The words down here at the bottom of the list will be in some way associated with english, but perhaps tenuously (if you’ve currenly got it sorted by relevance, that is). If you have any feedback for the site, please share it here, but please note this is only a hobby project, so I may not be able to make regular updates to the site. Have a nice day! 🐢

Below is a list of words related to another word. You can click words for definitions. Sorry if there’s a few unusual suggestions! The algorithm isn’t perfect, but it does a pretty good job for common-ish words. Here’s the list of words that are related to another word:

Popular Searches

Words Related to ~term~

As you’ve probably noticed, words related to «term» are listed above. Hopefully the generated list of term related words above suit your needs.

P.S. There are some problems that I’m aware of, but can’t currently fix (because they are out of the scope of this project). The main one is that individual words can have many different senses (meanings), so when you search for a word like mean, the engine doesn’t know which definition you’re referring to («bullies are mean» vs. «what do you mean?», etc.), so consider that your search query for words like term may be a bit ambiguous to the engine in that sense, and the related terms that are returned may reflect this. You might also be wondering: What type of word is ~term~?

Also check out ~term~ words on relatedwords.io for another source of associations.

Related Words

Related Words runs on several different algorithms which compete to get their results higher in the list. One such algorithm uses word embedding to convert words into many dimensional vectors which represent their meanings. The vectors of the words in your query are compared to a huge database of of pre-computed vectors to find similar words. Another algorithm crawls through Concept Net to find words which have some meaningful relationship with your query. These algorithms, and several more, are what allows Related Words to give you… related words — rather than just direct synonyms.

As well as finding words related to other words, you can enter phrases and it should give you related words and phrases, so long as the phrase/sentence you entered isn’t too long. You will probably get some weird results every now and then — that’s just the nature of the engine in its current state.

Special thanks to the contributors of the open-source code that was used to bring you this list of term themed words: @Planeshifter, @HubSpot, Concept Net, WordNet, and @mongodb.

There is still lots of work to be done to get this to give consistently good results, but I think it’s at the stage where it could be useful to people, which is why I released it.

Please note that Related Words uses third party scripts (such as Google Analytics and advertisements) which use cookies. To learn more, see the privacy policy.

Recent Queries

  • side«
  • the English language«
  • spin«
  • sidespin«
  • mittel«
  • en«
  • language«
  • cockney«
  • geordie«
  • sport«
  • athletics«
  • english language«
  • anglicise«
  • amish term«
  • anglicize«
  • the States«
  • surname english«
  • track and field«
  • cue sport term«
  • english national identity«
  • england«
  • people native«
  • athletic game«
  • englisch«
  • team sport«
  • common culture«
  • rock climbing«
  • amish«
  • contact sport«
  • english study«
  • field sport«
  • yod dropping«
  • english people«
  • row«
  • yod coalescence«
  • disambiguation«
  • yard«
  • indian malayalam film«
  • athletic«
  • wording«
  • old english«
  • water sport«
  • white hog«
  • terminology«
  • wapentake«
  • british isle«
  • spectator sport«
  • virgate«
  • ethnicity«
  • outdoor sport«
  • verbal noun«
  • something«
  • blood sport«
  • variety«
  • dialect«
  • racing«
  • type«
  • variant«
  • riding«
  • two-line brevier«
  • notable people«
  • horseback riding«
  • tufthunting«
  • kentucky«
  • tightrope walking«
  • tufthunter«
  • identity«
  • trifle«
  • indiana«
  • gymnastic exercise«
  • translator«
  • rowing«
  • translation«
  • surname«
  • cycling«
  • tourn«
  • literature«
  • skiing«
  • thoroughbred«
  • usa«
  • judo«
  • thistle crown«
  • study«
  • skating«
  • text«
  • town«
  • gymnastics«
  • syncretistic«
  • country«
  • romp«
  • swardspeak«
  • list«
  • acrobatic«
  • standardize«
  • speech«
  • archery«
  • southron«
  • lark«
  • size«
  • funambulism«
  • secretary hand«
  • scanlate«
  • rose noble«
  • rosbif«
  • reasonable doubt«
  • rag pudding«
  • quotation marks«
  • pykar«
  • pudding sleeve«
  • pseudo-English«
  • presentment of Englishry«
  • present perfect continuous«
  • pot-walloper«
  • possessive determiner«
  • possessive case«
  • portreeve«
  • portcullis«
  • pondian«
  • pommy«
  • pommie«
  • point«
  • pock-pudding«
  • pica«
  • phonotypy«
  • perfect passive participle«
  • past perfect continuous«
  • parmo«
  • or«
  • nuqta«
  • noun substantive«
  • noun«
  • nook«
  • non-rhotic«
  • non-Englishness«
  • non obstante«
  • morris dance«
  • moorstone«
  • milord«
  • midsummer«
  • lorem ipsum«
  • longbow«
  • lolcat«
  • law«
  • aquatics«
  • gymnastic«
  • frisk«
  • jolly«
  • equitation«
  • jacky«
  • sledding«
  • inceptor«
  • frolic«
  • hundred«
  • skylark«
  • hot trod«
  • gambol«
  • hopping Dick«
  • hoodening«
  • football game«
  • hobilar«
  • football«
  • hide«
  • play«
  • happy vowel«
  • halpeni«
  • liberal arts«
  • hackney«
  • arts«
  • groom-porter«
  • groom«
  • grockel«
  • griffin«
  • outdoor game«
  • great primer«
  • hockey game«
  • court game«
  • gownsman«
  • land«
  • goddam«
  • active«
  • future perfect«
  • track«
  • future participle«
  • tightrope walker«
  • frequentative«
  • run«
  • frankpledge«
  • figure skate«
  • fotmal«
  • nation«
  • fother«
  • running«
  • fonduk«
  • race«
  • fodder«
  • hunt«
  • fig-sue«
  • horse racing«
  • fieri facias«
  • father-bother merger«
  • box«
  • fardel«
  • ethical dative«
  • equestrian sport«
  • enumerated articles«
  • fishing«
  • englis«
  • bob«
  • greyhound racing«
  • département«
  • car racing«
  • dunam«
  • camel racing«
  • double talk«
  • boat racing«
  • do-support«
  • auto racing«
  • do you speak English«
  • humanities«
  • speed skating«
  • speed skate«
  • demonstrative determiner«
  • ice hockey«
  • dandiprat«
  • hockey«
  • custumal«
  • water ski«
  • culverkey«
  • water polo«
  • cottage loaf«
  • humanistic discipline«
  • corruption of blood«
  • boxing«
  • correctly«
  • swimming«
  • classicism«
  • surf«
  • cicero«
  • surfing«
  • chutnification«
  • chuck-farthing«
  • swim«
  • chirper«
  • cycle«
  • chaldron«
  • ice skating«
  • cartload«
  • ice skate«
  • carrus«
  • wrestling«
  • cambuca«
  • hunting«
  • cabinet pudding«
  • dune cycling«
  • buttercross«
  • ski jump«
  • brogue«
  • ski jumping«
  • broadpiece«
  • ski«
  • bowling«
  • cross-country skiing«
  • bone china«
  • motorcycle«
  • body English«
  • wheel«
  • bodle«
  • roller skating«
  • blanks and prizes«
  • roller skate«
  • blackspeak«
  • jumping«
  • black hog«
  • bicycle«
  • black and white village«
  • bishop«
  • grappling«
  • billiards«
  • skate«
  • billiard«
  • motorcycling«
  • billard«
  • bike«
  • barstooler«
  • sculling«
  • ballad opera«
  • crab«
  • ball«
  • skateboarding«
  • babuism«
  • acrobatics«
  • axis«
  • tumbling«
  • avoirdupois«
  • auxiliary language«
  • bullfighting«
  • as English as apple pie«
  • tauromachy«
  • apologetic apostrophe«
  • surfriding«
  • angryphone«
  • surfboarding«
  • anglo«
  • rassling«
  • anglicized«
  • pony-trekking«
  • anglicism«
  • funambulist«
  • anglicised«
  • alpha privative«
  • acre«
  • ability«
  • caper«
  • pedal«
  • motorbike«
  • luge«
  • cockfighting«
  • sled«
  • fisticuffs«
  • skateboard«
  • bicycling«
  • escapade«
  • bobsledding«
  • sleigh«
  • bobsled«
  • scull«
  • sportfishing«
  • surfboard«
  • toboggan«
  • water-skiing«
  • romper«
  • tobogganing«
  • pugilism«
  • tetherball«
  • lark about«
  • run around«
  • rollick«
  • disport«
  • cavort«
  • ride horseback«
  • schuss«
  • word play«
  • professional wrestling«
  • professional football«
  • professional boxing«
  • history«
  • art history«
  • literary study«
  • rugby football«
  • football player«
  • association football«
  • footballer«
  • good old boy«
  • pronunciation«
  • rugby«
  • on the go«
  • performing arts«
  • fine arts«
  • beaux arts«
  • good ole boy«
  • good ol’ boy«
  • place«
  • post«
  • library science«
  • philosophy«
  • high jump«
  • day game«
  • volleyball game«
  • night game«
  • golf game«
  • game«
  • field game«
  • basketball game«
  • soccer«
  • long jump«
  • about«
  • show«
  • linguistics«
  • cast«
  • philology«
  • figure skating«
  • basketball«
  • flying mare«
  • quick«
  • golf«
  • race car«
  • foot race«
  • deer hunt«
  • tennis«
  • lawn tennis«
  • deck tennis«
  • three-day event«
  • thoroughbred racing«
  • racing skate«
  • racing car«
  • hydroplane racing«
  • fight«
  • campaign«
  • runner«
  • broad jump«
  • foot pedal«
  • foot lever«
  • boxer«
  • handball«
  • fish«
  • fox hunting«
  • volleyball«
  • cross-country riding«
  • badminton«
  • stroke«
  • square«
  • hot«
  • duck hunting«
  • deer hunting«
  • activity«
  • squash racquets«
  • squash rackets«
  • squash«
  • casting«
  • stadium jumping«
  • assimilation«
  • skin diving«
  • diving«
  • surfer«
  • trace«
  • cyclist«
  • floating«
  • pull«
  • rower«
  • netball«
  • recreation«
  • skier«
  • dive«
  • dip«
  • chronology«
  • cross-country jumping«
  • racer«
  • grip«
  • skater«
  • wheeler«
  • tumble«
  • musicology«
  • neoclassicism«
  • fives«
  • croquet«
  • criollo«
  • breakers«
  • agile«
  • teasing«
  • angling«
  • breaker«
  • plunge«
  • folly«
  • flirt«
  • hoops«
  • sparring«
  • topspin«
  • slalom«
  • hound«
  • indulgence«
  • dressage«
  • sporty«
  • wrestle«
  • flirtation«
  • feather«
  • diversion«
  • nimble«
  • float«
  • sumo«
  • flirting«
  • oarsman«
  • jai alai«
  • gallop«
  • grapple«
  • tobogganist«
  • surfboarder«
  • stemmatology«
  • stemmatics«
  • spread-eagle«
  • sledder«
  • skinny-dip«
  • skin-dive«
  • shovelboard«
  • sexcapade«
  • rope-a-dope«
  • roller-skater«
  • pigsticking«
  • pedaller«
  • pedaler«
  • orthoepy«
  • luging«
  • ice-skater«
  • foxhunt«
  • classicalism«
  • bicycler«
  • beagling«
  • battue«
  • hyperactive«

absorption, skateboarder, spry, bathe, spar, racquetball, glide, bobsleigh, backspin, shuffleboard, trot, paintball, sledge, pelota, dalliance, trivium, mush, lunacy, dogsled, quadrivium, bicyclist, coursing, craziness, horseshoes, sculler, pugilistic, horseplay, toying, showjumping, ducking, overactive, treadle, pugilist, canter, unicycle, footrace, natation, pallone, rugger, in-fighting, prance, prizefight, foolery, quoits, rollerblading, astir, tomfoolery, activeness, coquetry, comparative literature, professional tennis, professional golf, professional basketball, literary criticism, touch football, football hero, stroke play, medal play, match play, child’s play, royal tennis, school, playing, romance, musical performance, battledore and shuttlecock, course, night life, line backer, full gainer, historical, architecture, junior welterweight, junior middleweight, junior lightweight, junior featherweight, performing artist, round of golf, transcendental philosophy, moral philosophy, legal philosophy, national, half gainer, cross country, romantic, cricket, northern, ordinary bicycle, ordinary, position, ball game, back, daisy print wheel, coast, classics, real tennis, dance, painting, linguist, interest, jack, acting, register, go, move, performing, track event, political campaign, court tennis, travel, fun run, say, round, lively, philosopher, field hockey, linguistic scientist, linguistic, miniature golf, clock golf, fit, trick, pass receiver, pass catcher, joke, performer, bath, hunter, skiing race, ski race, scratch race, sack race, relay race, potato race, obstacle race, horse race, chariot race, car race, boat race, bicycle race, automobile race, auto race, arms race, road runner, dancing, roll, hold, historic, light welterweight, light middleweight, light heavyweight, light flyweight, philosophical, hurling, fun, struggle, hand-to-hand struggle, ball carrier, pitch, singles, rhetoric, surf fishing, fly casting, dog racing, swan dive, super heavyweight, jurisprudence, philologist, boat, water wheel, marathon runner, long-distance runner, animation, entertainment, orientalist, sparring partner, candidate, musicologist, tailor, slip, soft pedal, mountain bike, hound dog, dog sleigh, dog sled, crazy, neoclassical, kick, logic, surf casting, classicist, ultimate frisbee, sculpture, drive, stock car, car wheel, driving wheel, celebration, loud pedal, rail, fisherman, swimmer, escape, aesthetics, lit crit, lit, seal, fool, trail riding, pack riding, endurance riding, balance wheel, balance, fisher, accommodation, articulate, doubles, freestyle, bait casting, sparring mate, lineman, gun, chronological, facility, safety bike, safety bicycle, stump, lightweight, heavyweight, grasp, prank, ethics, plane, receiver, gaming, pastime, snorkel diving, scuba diving, cliff diving, duck, polo, jockey, relay, ride, pursuit, wrestler, marathon, gambling, toy, rabbit, shark, orient, trail bike, slide, recreational, metaphysics, nominee, fitting, ski jumper, prone float, glider, heat, snake, wagon wheel, toothed wheel, sprocket wheel, ratchet wheel, potter’s wheel, paddle wheel, grinding wheel, geared wheel, gear wheel, emery wheel, daisy wheel, buffing wheel, bicycle wheel, whale, linebacker, middleweight, energetic, swallow dive, wire, roller, kicker, crawl, racy, tandem bicycle, carving, backstroke, tame, breaststroke, cornerback, steeplechase, greyhound, welterweight, flip, gas pedal, gas, philological, sprinter, poetics, falcon, amusement, slider, tandem, mash, butterfly, bantamweight, angle, hawk, featherweight, dirt bike, in-line skate, fishery, shrimp, dialectic, screwball, belly flop, overcast, seine, bathing, lacrosse, sailplane, paddle, flyweight, luger, adjustment, gear, snipe, flirtatious, all-terrain bike, blocker, turtle, epistemology, ambush, campaigner, romanticist, neoclassic, sustaining pedal, escapism, snowboard, adaptive, slew, jest, finisher, antic, adaptable, belly whopper, belly whop, belly flopper, dunk, grappler, dead-man’s float, ballgame, nightlife, lingual, agility, clutch pedal, clutch, adapter, vivification, unicyclist, speediness, softheaded, slogger, skinny-dipper, scollop, rowel, romanticistic, rapidness, put-on, pushball, push-bike, pizzaz, piscary, piaffe, philologue, off-roader, oarswoman, oarsmanship, neoclassicistic, natator, monocycle, mishegoss, mishegaas, meshugaas, matman, lightsomeness, legerity, langlaufer, japery, jacklight, iconology, handwheel, glottochronology, funrun, eurhythmy, curvet, classicistic, brail, bicycle-built-for-two, battledore, axiology, adaptative, lope, transcendentalism, roulette, fowl, miler, forage, dialectology, lunatic, eurythmics, fin, musicological, slugger, brake pedal, accelerator pedal, philosophic, tumbler, playfulness, troll, repechage, prawn, vaulting, etiology, snorkeling, buoy, gladiator, ferret, puncher, bronco busting, steeplechaser, lightness, neoclassicist, hurl, harlequinade, prizefighter, floater, rerun, gainer, dynamism, marathoner, esthetics, hyperactivity, scallop, throttle, clasp, lexicology, trawl, tackler, clowning, festivity, quickness, musher, skim, flotation, spiritedness, pinwheel, skid, trolling, scrambler, brio, paddlewheel, oomph, frivolity, clutches, coquettish, adaptor, fly-fishing, cartwheel, accelerator, adroitness, coquette, huntsman, sprocket, merriment, deftness, velocipede, rapidity, palooka, waterwheel, moonstruck, aetiology, adeptness, pung, buffoonery, minibike, pizzazz, trundle, zing, floatation, nimbleness, bather, clench, half-baked, eurythmy, invigoration, terpsichore, nosewheel, burnup, feathering, celerity, shoehorn, cogwheel, jackknife, playacting, stumblebum, eurhythmics, jocularity, overactivity, saltation, souse, English language, English people, Englishpeople, Englishmen, English, Augustin, Pidgin English, Anglo-Saxon, American language, Scottish, Scots English, Scots, Received Pronunciation, Queen’s English, Oxford English, Old English, Modern English, Middle English, King’s English, England, American English, American, West Saxon, West Midland, Southwestern, Scottish Lallans, Scotch, Northern, Lallans, Kentish, Jutish, Ebonics, East Midland, Black Vernacular English, Black Vernacular, Black English Vernacular, Black English, Anglicization, Anglicisation, Anglian, Anglia, Albion, African American Vernacular English, African American English, AAVE, United States of America, Amish, United States, USA, US, U.S.A., U.S., Cockney, America, West Germanic language, Yankee-Doodle, Yankee, Yank, Wyomingite, Wolverine, Yorkshire assimilation, Wisconsinite, Yodaesque, West Virginian, Yinglish, Yidglish, Yeshivish, West Germanic, Yankspeak, Washingtonian, Wordsworth, Volunteer, Worcestershire sauce, Virginian, Woolfian, Vermonter, Woodwardian, Utahan, Wood, Williams, Union, Whitbyan, Westminster Abbey, Wenglish, WelshE, Tory, Welsh English, Texan, Wedgwood, Tennessean, Weblish, Tarheel, Webley, Spanish American, Wattsian, Watt, Southerner, Wat, South Dakotan, WAfreE, South Carolinian, Victoria plum, Sooner, Valentine, Ulmerian, Tudor, Trollopean, Scotland, Trollope, Trent, Rollerblade, Tower, Rhode Islander, Tookean, Puerto Rican, Tinglish, Pennsylvanian, Thatter, Oregonian, Thamesian, Oklahoman, Tennyson, Ohioan, Tanglish, Northerner, Tan, Tamworth, North Dakotan, Take Thatter, North Carolinian, Taglish, North, Swenglish, Nisei, Swamp Yankee, New Yorker, Sussex pond pudding, New Mexican, Sun, New Jerseyite, Suffolk punch, New Jerseyan, Stevens, New Hampshirite, Stafford knot, New Englander, Stacy, Nevadan, Spanglish, Nebraskan, Spalding, Montanan, Southwellian, Missourian, Southeyan, Mississippian, Southern American English, Minnesotan, Southdown, Michigander, South African English, Marylander, Soundex, Mainer, Somersetshire, Louisianian, Snowdon, Louisianan, Skillings, Sinicism, Keystone Stater, Simpson, Kentuckian, Simmons, Shropshire, Kansan, Shirley, Shenstonian, Iowan, Sheng, Indianan, Shaw, Illinoisan, Shakespeare, Idahoan, Shacklean, Hoosier, Semi-Saxon, Hispanic American, Seaspeak, Hispanic, Scottish English, Hawaiian, Granite Stater, Gopher, Saxon genitive, German American, SEAsianE, Georgian, Rutlandshire, Garden Stater, Russlish, Franco-American, Runglish, Floridian, Rogers, Rodgers, Robin Hood, Roberts, Richards, Down Easter, Reynoldsian, Delawarian, Reynolds, Delawarean, Red Leicester, Creole, Rector, Cornhusker, Connecticuter, Raleigh, Coloradan, Ragman, Puseyism, Carolinian, Puseyan, Californian, Preston, Buckeye, Policespeak, Bostonian, Polglish, Bluegrass Stater, Plough Monday, Pitt, Pinglish, Philippine English, Perpendicular, Black American, Penglish, Beaver, Peacockian, Bay Stater, Patterdale, Badger, PDE, Asian American, Ortonesque, Arkansawyer, Old Frisian, Arkansan, Numanoid, Arizonian, Norvicensian, Arizonan, Northern English, Appalachian, Northern England English, North America, Anglo-American, Norroy, Norfuk, Newton, Newfoundland English, New Zealandese, Americanization, New Zealand English, Americanisation, New England, Netlish, Negus, Negerhollands, Alaskan, Namlish, Alabamian, NZE, Alabaman, NNES, Afro-American, NEngE, African-American, NEST, NES, Mummerset, African American, Moore, Midsummer Day, Middle England, Metis, Metaphone, Mayhem Parva, Massingerian, Manchester tart, Malthus, Magna Carta, Luddite, Lord Keeper, Loegrian, Locke, Little Englander, Lincolnshire sausage, Leicester, Leftpondia, Langley, Lakist, Lady Day, LOTE, Krio, Kreyol, Korean English, Kopite, Knight, King Mob, Keynes, Kenyan English, Keatsian, Karloffian, Jonsonian, Jonsonesque, Johnston, John Bullism, Jespersenian, Jersey Dutch, Jenson, Jenglish, Japlish, Janglish, Jamie, Jacobus, Iyaric, Italese, I don’t speak English, Huntington, Hunglish, Hulsean, Hullish, Hudibrastic, Hoylean, Howardian, Housmanian, Horroxian, Hooke, Holt, Hocktide, Hocclevean, Hiberno-English, Hartleyan, Harris, Harley Street, Hamm, Gwatkin, Gumery, Gresham, Greg, Greek foot, Great Vowel Shift, Gogmagog, Glossic, Globish, Gibbonian, Germanic, Geordie, Gazzamania, Galtonian, Franklin, Franglais, Fleet Street, Flamsteedian, Fingallian, Fenglish, Faradayan, Eton mess, Engsh, Engrish, Englysshe, Englysche, Englissh, Englishy, Englishwomen, Englishwoman, Englishness, Englishman, Englishly, Englishism, Englishish, Englishify, Englishified, Englishification, Englisher, English-Canadian, English plus, English fever, English English, English Canada, Englified, Englander, Eng., Endo, Edison, Early Modern English, EVEL, ESP, ELT, EAfrE, EAP, E-Prime, Dunglish, Dryden, Donnean, Doe, Digger, Dickens, Dellacruscan, Dalton, D’Nealian, Czechlish, Cumberland sausage, Cullerian, Crowleyesque, Crowleyan, Cranmerian, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Cowleyan, Cowardian, Cowardesque, Congrevian, Conformist, Commonwealth of Nations, Columbian, Coll, Cole, Cobbettian, Cliffordian, Classical English, Clarence, Cheapside, Chauceresque, Chatham, Chandler, Chancery Standard, Challis, Caxton, Carolus, Caribbean English, Canadian English, Cajun English, Bywater, Burtonian, Burrows, Bunyanian, Bunyanesque, Brownrigg, Britspeak, Britishism, British Isles, British English, Bodleian, Blue Ensign, Bloomsburyan, Blankley, Blackwood, Blackadder, Bevis, Bethlehemite, Bennett, Bell, Beerbohmian, Bedean, Beaumont, Bartlett, Barnes, Barmy Army, Banglish, Babbagian, B.Eng., Ayckbournian, Ayaan, Australian English, Austenian, Austenesque, Augustan, Ashmolean, Ashley, Appalachian English, Angrez, Angloromani, Anglophony, Anglophonic, Anglophone, Anglophobic, Anglophobia, Anglophobe, Anglomania, Anglodom, Anglocentrism, Anglocentrically, Anglo-Indian, Anglo-Frisian, Anglo-America, Anglo-, Anglish, Anglify, Anglicity, Anglicanism, Anglican, Al Jazeera, Airspeak, Americanize, Americanise, German language, American football game, American football, European country, Swiss people, Spanish people, Irish people, French people, Dutch people, British people, Union soldier, Federal soldier, European nation, Greco-Roman wrestling, West-sider, Swiss, Spanish, Sinology, Romanticism, Romantic Movement, Plattdeutsch, Pine Tree State, Orientalism, Oriental Studies, Occidentalism, Native Hawaiian, Native Alaskan, Maine, ME, Low German, Latino, Irish, High German, German, Frisian, French, Federal, East-sider, Dutch, Confederate, Brits, British, Appalachia, Alaskan Native, Alaska Native, Flemish dialect, State of the Vatican City, Union of Serbia and Montenegro, Serbia and Montenegro, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Slovenia, Republic of San Marino, Republic of Poland, Republic of Moldova, Republic of Ireland, Republic of Iceland, Republic of Hungary, Republic of Finland, Republic of Croatia, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Austria, Principality of Monaco, Principality of Liechtenstein, Principality of Andorra, Kingdom of The Netherlands, Kingdom of Spain, Kingdom of Belgium, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Germany, Scandinavian country, Balkan country, Bosna i Hercegovina, Balkan state, Scandinavian nation, Balkan nation, Fosbury flop, Yugoslavia, Yiddish, White Russia, Westernization, Westernisation, West Germany, The Netherlands, The Holy See, Teutonic, Taal, Switzerland, Swiss Confederation, Svizzera, Suomi, Suisse, Spain, South African Dutch, Slovenija, Slovenia, Slovakia, Slovak Republic, Sinologist, Schweiz, San Marino, Rumania, Roumania, Romania, Portuguese Republic, Portugal, Polska, Poland, Pennsylvania Dutch, Old Saxon, Old High German, Oesterreich, Northern Ireland, Netherlands, Nederland, Monaco, Moldova, Moldavia, Middle Low German, Middle High German, Merckx, Magyarorszag, Luxemburg, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Jugoslavija, Italy, Italian Republic, Italia, Irish Republic, Ireland, Iceland, Hungary, Hrvatska, Holy See, Holland, Hinault, Great Britain, Germany, German Democratic Republic, Genevan, French Republic, France, Flemish, Flanders, Finland, Europeanization, Europeanisation, Espana, Eire, Eddy Merckx, East Germany, Deutschland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Byelorussia, Byelarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bosnia, Bernard Hinault, Belorussia, Belgium, Belgique, Belarus, Balkans, Austria, Andorra, Afrikaans,



By
Last updated:

January 30, 2022

Do You Know the Origins of English? 16 English Words with Cool Life Stories

What if we told you that there’s a way to learn multiple English words at the same time?

All you have to do is learn one little English word and—poof!—you now know two, three or ten new words. Wow!

No, it’s not magic. All you have to do is learn a word’s origin along with its definition.

The origin of a word is the language it originally came from. English has many words that originally came from other languages. Some have been changed over years, others have stayed pretty much the same. When you learn a word, you should learn where it came from too!

But how will this help you double or triple your English vocabulary learning?

Often, when a foreign word is adopted by English, it takes on many new forms in the English language. This one new English word is put together with other English words, and these combinations create many more new words. However, these combinations are all related to the original word! If you know the original word, you’ll understand all of the combinations.

The more origins and original meanings you learn, the more you’ll see these words used and reused in English.

Through just one additional step to the vocabulary learning process—learning word origins—you can improve your understanding of English as a whole. Now that’s magical.


Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)

English Is Always Growing

Last December, the Oxford English Dictionary added 500 new words and phrases to the dictionary. Not 500 words for the year—the English language gained 500 officially recognized words and phrases in just three months!

English is a living language. That means it’s always growing and changing. Many things influence the English language and its growth, but no matter how new or old a word is, you can probably trace it back to an original word or the moment when it was accepted into the language.

Whether the word is fleek (meaning “nice,” from 2003) or fleet (meaning a group of military ships, from the year 1200), most English words came from somewhere else.

Some words are borrowed from other languages and turn into English words with few or no changes, like the Italian words for pizza and zucchini. Other words are changed a lot more and become barely recognizable, like the Latin word pax which turned into peace in English.

No matter how different a word is from its origin, though, knowing where it came from can help you become a better English learner.

How Learning Word Origins Can Improve Your English

When you learn a new word, do you remember to learn its different forms and tenses as well? After all, knowing the word “to see” isn’t enough when you want to talk about something you saw last week. You’ll need to say “to see” in different forms and tenses, such as “I see,” “I saw,” “I’m going to see” and “you’ve seen.” You can apply the same idea to word origins.

When you learn the origin of a word, you might see it again in another word. When that happens, you might be able to get a basic understanding of the new word.

For example, look at these words:

Transport

Transgress

Transaction

Notice anything similar about them? They all have the word trans in them, which comes from the Latin word meaning “across.” Now even if you don’t know the full meaning of the words you can figure out that they deal with something going across.

Now look at the original meanings of the other parts of the words:

Port — To carry

So, it makes sense that to transport something means that you carry something across a space. For example, a bus might transport people from one city to another. A plane might transport people from one country to another.

Gress — To go

To transgress means that you cross a boundary, rule or law.

Action — To do

transaction usually involves an exchange or trade of some kind. For example, when you give money to a cashier to buy a new shirt, this is a transaction.

You can probably figure out what the words mean from this information. See how much we knew before you even thought about opening a dictionary? It’s all thanks to knowing word origins!

Roots, Prefixes and Suffixes

English words are often made from root words, with prefixes and suffixes joined to them.

A prefix is added to the beginning of a word. The bi in bicycle is a prefix that means “two” (as in two wheels).

A suffix is added to the end of a word. The less in endless is a suffix that means “without” (which is why endless means “without an end”).

Once you remove all the prefixes and suffixes on a word, you’re left with its root, which is the part of the word that gives its main meaning. The words cycle and end in the above words are roots.

Different prefixes and suffixes are added to a root to change its meaning and create new words. For example, the root word hand can become unhand (to let go), handout (something you give for free) or even handsome (good looking).

All three words have different meanings, but they’re all related in one way or another to hand. The first two words seem related to hand, but how is handsome related to hand? A long time ago, the word used to mean “easy to handle” and then later became a term you use to show appreciation for someone.

Understanding roots and word origins like this will make it easier to understand new words, and even why they mean what they mean. The next time you see a word that has hand in it, you’ll be one step closer to understanding it before you even look it up.

Below are just 16 words. From these 16 words, you’ll learn the meanings of more than 30 other words! Once you know each word’s origin, you’ll begin to notice it in other words.

A majority of English word roots come from Latin and Greek. Even English words that come from other languages like French or German are sometimes originally Latin anyway—so they were Latin first, then became French or German and then they became English.

Many words on this list have gone through a few languages before getting to English, but in this post we’ll focus on just one main origin.

The “related words” sections give a sample of the other words you can learn using these origins, but there are many, many more out there. Most related words are broken down into their own origins, which are defined and then pointed out in parentheses (like these).

For example, if you see the words “together (sym),” you’ll know that the root sym means together. Simple!

And now, the words!

Greek

1. Phone

Meaning: A phone is a device that’s used to communicate with people from a distance (you might be using a phone to read this!).

Origin: The English word phone is actually short for telephone, which comes from the Greek words for sound (phon) and far away (tele).

Related words: Homophones are words that sound (phon) the same (homo) but are spelled differently, like hear and here. If you like hearing nice things you might enjoy a symphony, which is when many instruments play together (sym) to make a beautiful sound (phon)… usually.

2. Hyper

Meaning: Someone who is hyper is very energetic and lively.

Origin: Hyper actually a shortening of the word hyperactive, which combines the Greek word meaning “over, beyond” (hyper) and the Latin word for something that’s done (act).

Related words: When someone tells you they’re so hungry they could eat a horse, you know they’re just exaggerating by using a hyperbole—stretching the truth, like throwing (bole) something too far (hyper). No matter how exciting someone’s hyperbole is, try not to hyperventilate! That means to breathe or blow out air (ventilate) too much (hyper) in a way that makes you dizzy.

3. Sync

Meaning: When a few things happen at the same time or in the same way, they’re in sync. This word is a shortening of the word synchronize, but it’s used alone nowadays as a verb (your phone apps might even sync to make sure your files are up to date).

Origin: Sync comes from a Greek word that means to be together (sym or syn).

Related words: A synopsis is a summary of something like a movie or a play. It’s a way for everyone to see (opsis) the meaning together (syn). Synopsis and summary are actually synonyms, which are words that share the same (syn) meaning but have a different sound or name (onym).

Stay away from a play if the synopsis says the actors lip-sync. That means they move their lips (lip) together (syn) with the music without actually creating the sounds themselves.

4. Air

Meaning: Air is all around us. It’s the invisible gas that creates our atmosphere. Without air, we wouldn’t be able to breathe!

Origin: The word air has gone through a few languages before ending up in English, but it probably comes from the Greek word aer, which means to blow or breathe. You can actually find words that use both aer and air.

Related words: An airplane is a relatively flat object (plane) that flies in the air (air). Airplanes are aerodynamic, which means they use the air (aer) to power (dynamic) their flight. Don’t forget to look down when you’re in that plane, since aerial (of the air) views are pretty amazing!

Latin

5. Dense

Meaning: Something dense is packed tightly or very thick. For example, a fog can be so dense, or thick, that you can’t see much through it.

Origin: Dense comes from the Latin for “thick” (densus).

Related words: You can see condensation when evaporated water molecules join together (con) and becomes thick (dens) enough to form droplets. Density is the measure of how thickly packed (dens) something is, like people or things in one space.

6. Finish

Meaning: To finish something means to be done with it. In a few seconds you’ll be finished reading this sentence.

Origin: Finish comes from the Latin word finis which means “end.” In many words, this is shortened to fin.

Related words: You’ve probably defined a lot of vocabulary words in your English learning, which means you’ve looked up what the words mean. You could say that you’ve brought an end (both de and fin), to your lack of understanding! Don’t worry, there’s a finite number of words in English, which is a noun (ite) that means something that has a limit or end (fin). If English were infinite, or without (in) a limit, we would be learning it forever!

7. Form

Meaning: The form of something is its shape. As a verb, the word to form means to create something in a specific shape.

Origin: The word form comes from the Latin words for a mold (forma) and the Latin verb to form or to create (formare).

Related words: Many jobs and schools require people to wear a uniform, which is clothing that all looks the same or has one (uni) style (form). When places don’t have strict rules about what clothes to wear, they’re informal, or without (in) a specific shape (form).

8. Letter

Meaning: A letter is a symbol that represents a sound in a language, like a, b, c, or the rest of the alphabet. A letter is also a message you write and send to someone. Emails are digital letters!

Origin: In Latin, a letter was called a littera, and the lit and liter parts of this word appear in many English words that are related to letters.

Related words: If you’re reading this, you’re literate—you know how to read (liter). You probably read literature (books) and hopefully don’t take fiction too literally (seriously and exactly). All these words are forms of the stem liter, but their suffixes turn them into someone who reads (literate), something that exists (literature), and someone who does things to the letter (literally).

9. Part

Meaning: A part is a piece of a whole, something that isn’t complete. In verb form, the word to part means to divide or remove something.

Origin: This word comes from the Latin partire or partiri, which means to divide or share among others.

Related words: Somebody impartial has no (im) opinion about something (they take no part in the debate). You can be impartial about whether you live in a house or an apartment. An apartment is the result (ment) of dividing a building into smaller spaces (part). Wherever you live, make sure it’s safe—you wouldn’t want to put your family in jeopardy, which is a dangerous situation or, according to the original definition, an evenly divided (part) game (jeo).

10. Voice

Meaning: Your voice is the sound you use to speak. You can also voice, or state, an opinion.

Origin: The Latin word for voice is vox, and the word for “to call” is vocare. These two related words are the origin of a number of English words related to speech or voices. They usually include the root voc or vok.

Related words: An advocate is someone who calls (voc) others to help him (ate) support a cause or a person. Even someone who means well might end up provoking someone who doesn’t agree with them. To provoke someone means to call someone (vok) forward (pro) and challenge them in a way that usually makes them angry.

Old Norse

11. Loft

Meaning: A loft is a room right under the roof or very high up in a building. The loft in a house is usually used for storage, but building lofts are rented out as (usually smaller) living spaces.

Origin: The Old Norse word for air or sky was lopt, which is written as loft in English.

Related words: Something aloft is up in (a) the air (loft). If something is very tall, you would say it’s lofty, which is the adjective form of loft. In the same way, someone lofty has a very high (loft) opinion of themselves, which makes them act proud or snobbish.

French

12. Question

Meaning: Asking a question means trying to get information about something. Questions end in question marks (?).

Origin: Originally from Latin, English borrowed the Old French word question and never gave it back. The word means “to ask” or “to seek,” and it shows up in a number of ways in other words, from quire to quest. This one can be tough to spot since it switches between using the French and Latin versions of the word.

Related words: Some fantasy books have the main characters going on a quest, or a long and difficult search (quest) for something. Maybe you’re more interested in murder mystery books, which often have an inquest, or an official investigation (quest) into (in) someone’s suspicious death. If these types of books sound interesting, you can inquire, or ask (quest) about (in) them at your local library.

13. Peace

Meaning: Peace is a calm state of being. It means no wars or troubles. Peace is a wonderful thing!

Origin: The Latin pax and Old French pais both mean peace, and English words use both as prefixes and suffixes. Look for words with pac or peas in them (just not the kind of peas you eat. That’s a whole other word).

Related words: To pacify means to make (ify) someone calmer (pac). To calm someone, you can try to appease them, which means to (a) bring them peace (peas) by giving them what they want.

14. Liberty

Meaning: Liberty is the state of being free. The Statue of Liberty in New York is a symbol of freedom.

Origin: Another originally Latin word, liberty found its way into English through the Old French liberete, usually shortened to lib.

Related words: A liberator is a person (ator) who sets others free (lib) from a situation like slavery, jail or a bad leader. Becoming free means being open to changes, so it helps if you’re liberal—someone with a personality (al) that’s open to (lib) new ideas or ways of thinking.

Italian

15. Gusto

Meaning: Doing something with gusto means really enjoying it and being enthusiastic about it.

Origin: The Italian word gusto actually means taste, and comes from the Latin for taste, gustus.

Related words: You won’t do something with gusto if you find it disgusting. That’s the negative feeling you get about something you think is unpleasant—literally, without (dis) taste (gust).

Arabic

16. Check

Meaning: To check means to take a close look at something, or to make sure of something (verify it). For example, before you leave for work in the morning you might check that you have everything you need. Check can also be used as a verb that means to stop or slow something down.

Origin: The word check has an interesting history, moving from language to language and changing its meaning a little with each one. The word is originally from Persian and then Arabic, where it meant “king.” Over time, the word started being used in the game of chess and was defined as “to control.” Eventually the word’s meaning changed to what it is today. So much history in such a small word!

Related words: Leaving something unchecked means leaving something without (un) limits or control (check). If you leave weeds to grow unchecked in your yard, for example, they’ll take over and destroy your other plants. The word check on its own also refers to a piece of paper worth a certain amount of money (you write checks to pay bills). A raincheck used to be a ticket given to people attending outdoor events that had to be stopped because of rain. Today a raincheck is just a promise to do something another time.

The more roots and word origins you know, the easier it will become to learn new words.

Don’t stop learning here! Can you find words that use the related roots, too?

There are always new words to discover, and now you know exactly what to look for!


Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)

CollectionThe Wide World of Word OriginsWhere in the World Did These Words Come From?

Explore Collection

  • 18 WordsEnglish Food and Drink Words Derived from Arabic
  • 22 WordsEnglish Words Derived from Arabic
  • 15 WordsEnglish Words Derived from Hindi
  • 15 WordsEnglish Words Derived from Yiddish
  • 15 WordsMore English Words Derived from Yiddish
  • 15 WordsEnglish Words Derived from Gaelic
  • 10 WordsEnglish Words Derived from Old Norse
  • 15 WordsEnglish Words Derived from Indigenous Languages of the Americas
  • 15 WordsEnglish Words Derived from Quechua
  • 15 WordsEnglish Words Derived from Nahuatl

CollectionPower SuffixesFlex Your Vocab Muscles with These Essential Word Endings

Explore Collection

  • 25 Words-able
  • 18 Words-acy
  • 14 Words-arian
  • 12 Words-escence
  • 18 Words-ette
  • 15 Words-ful
  • 13 Words-fy
  • 40 Words-ism
  • 15 Words-less
  • 20 Words-ology
  • 10 Words-scope

CollectionPower PrefixesBoost Your Word Knowledge with These Essential Affixes

Explore Collection

  • 10 Wordsanti-
  • 10 Wordscon-
  • 15 Wordsdis-
  • 10 Wordsex-
  • 10 Wordsfore-
  • 10 Wordsinter-
  • 10 Wordsmis-
  • 10 Wordspre-
  • 10 Wordspro-
  • 25 Wordsre-
  • 10 Wordssub-
  • 10 Wordssuper-
  • 10 Wordstrans-
  • 20 Wordsun-
  • 10 Wordsuni-

Morphology & Roots Vocabulary Lists:

English Words Derived from Indigenous Languages of the Americas

Here are 15 common English words whose roots come from indigenous languages of the Americas. The fate of the people who spoke these languages varies greatly, from tribes lost to history (that we only know about through records of other tribes) to the Guarani, whose language at last count had over 4 million speakers in Paraguay. All of these peoples, whatever their current status, have contributed their ideas and their perspectives through the English words below. Many of these terms have to do with animals and foods to be found in nature, but the Algonquian roots of «tuxedo» may come as a surprise! Read on below for tales of many more English words from indigenous sources.

15 Words

Perfect Ten: Dec, Cent, Mille

These words derive from the Latin roots dec («ten»), cent («hundred»), and mille («thousand»). Start a practice session and see if you can score 100 percent!

14 Words

Power Suffix: -scope

Have a close look at this list of words that include the suffix -scope, meaning «an instrument for observing.» The Latinized scopium derives from the Greek skopein, «to look, to examine.»

10 Words

English Words Derived from Arabic

All of the English words on this lists have Arabic origins. While some, like caliph and imam, clearly come from Arabic sources, you might be surprised to discover that algebra, chemistry, and zero are also derived from Arabic. Learn these words that contribute to the richness and variety of the English language.

22 Words

Power Suffix: -acy

Derived from Latin, the English suffix -acy in English means «the state of» or «the quality or condition of.»

18 Words

More English Words Derived from Yiddish

English has borrowed many words from Yiddish, which is itself an amalgam of German, Russian, Hebrew and many other languages. Here are 15 more English words that derive from Yiddish — some of which are very common, and some of which might be less familiar to you. Looking for more Yiddish-derived words? Check out our original list of English Words Derived from Yiddish.

15 Words

Body Parts: Neur («Nerve»)

You’ve got a lot of nerve — so learn this list of words that derive the Latin word neuron, meaning «nerve.» Want to dissect more English words related to anatomy? Here are links to our complete set of Body Language lists: Corp («Body») / Capit, Capt («Head») / Or, Os («Mouth») / Dent, Dont («Tooth») / Gastr, Gastro («Stomach») / Neur («Nerve») / Man («Hand») / Ped, Pod («Foot») / Derm («Skin») / Carn («Flesh») / Os, Osteo («Bone») / Cor, Cord, Cardio («Heart») / Psych («Mind»)

12 Words

Speak Your Mind: Anim

Learn these words derived from the Latin root anim, which has many meanings, including «breath,» «mind,» «spirit,» and «courage.»

16 Words

Words to Live By: Bio

Are you ready to learn the facts of life? Then review these words from the Greek root bio, meaning «life» or «way of living.»

21 Words

Case Closed: Clud, Clus

Open your mind and practice this list of words derived from the Latin roots clud and clus, meaning «shut, enclose, or confine.»

29 Words

Break It Down: Cata

Learn these words derived from the Greek root kata-, which has a range of meanings including «down,» «through,» «against» «across,» «along with,» and «wrongly.»

15 Words

Power Prefix: dis-

Meaning «not» or «opposite of,» this common prefix is used in words like disagree («to be of different or conflicting opinions») and disgust («a strong feeling of dislike»). Learn these words that contain the prefix dis-. Want to increase your prefix power? Learn our complete set of Power Prefix lists: anti-, con-, dis-, ex-, fore-, inter-, mis-, pre-, pro-, sub-, super-, trans-, uni-

15 Words

Power Suffix: -ful

The suffix -ful means «characterized by» or «full of.» For example, a joyful song is characterized by joy or happiness. Learn these words that include the suffix -ful.

15 Words

Power Suffix: -less

The suffix -less, meaning «without,» is added to nouns and verbs to form adjectives. For example, a hopeless situation is a situation without hope. Learn these words that use the suffix less.

15 Words

Понравилась статья? Поделить с друзьями:
  • Word related to crime
  • Word related to city
  • Word related to christmas
  • Word related to beautiful
  • Word regular meaning of