About Etymology Map
What this is
Etymology Map lets you type an English word and see the languages it passed through on its way here: each stage plotted on a real world map, in the order it traveled, with the word's form and meaning at every step along the way. The goal is to make etymology tangible: not just a list of language names, but an actual journey you can trace with your eyes.
How the data is put together
This is not a hand-compiled reference in the traditional sense. Each entry was researched and drafted with AI assistance (using Claude, from Anthropic), drawing on established etymological knowledge and then structured, stage by stage, into the language, era, and approximate location you see plotted on the map. Entries are reviewed for accuracy rather than published in bulk, and the project favors a smaller, carefully checked collection over a larger, sloppier one. Etymology is also a field with genuine scholarly debate in places (word origins aren't always settled science), so entries should be read as a reasonable, well-sourced account rather than an infallible one, and corrections are welcome.
The collection currently contains a number of words spanning dozens of source languages.
Built with
This site is static (plain HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, no backend or build step). The world map is rendered using:
- d3-geo: map projections and path generation
- topojson-client: decoding the world's coastline data
- world-atlas: the underlying land/coastline geometry
Thanks to their maintainers for making these freely available.
Feedback and corrections
Spotted an inaccurate etymology, a typo, or a word you'd like to see added? Reach out at [email protected].