Rootles

Daily Etymology Puzzles

The word archive

Every word English speaks is a fossil of older words. Here is every word we have already excavated in Dig — cut into its ancient pieces and traced back to the languages that made it. A new one is added each day, the day after it is played, so nothing here spoils today's puzzle.

16 words excavated so far.

breakfast literally “breaking the fast”

  1. break “to break” Old English · Old English brecan
  2. fast “a fast” Old English · Old English fæsten — going without food

First dug June 11, 2026 Wiktionary ↗

philosophy literally “loving-wisdom”

  1. philo “loving” Greek · philos — loving, dear
  2. sophy “wisdom” Greek · sophia — wisdom

First dug June 12, 2026 Wiktionary ↗

companion literally “one you share bread with”

  1. com “with” Latin · Latin com-
  2. pan “bread” Latin · Latin panis
  3. ion “one who” Latin · noun-making suffix, via Old French

First dug June 14, 2026 Wiktionary ↗

idol literally “image, phantom”

  1. idol “image” Greek · Greek eidōlon 'image, phantom', from eidos 'form' — atomic in English; the 'id' in front is a coincidence

First dug June 15, 2026 Wiktionary ↗

garlic literally “spear-leek”

  1. gar “spear” Old English · Old English gār 'spear', for the sharp leaves — survives in 'garfish'
  2. lic “leek” Old English · Old English lēac 'leek'

First dug June 16, 2026 Wiktionary ↗

biscuit literally “twice-cooked”

  1. bis “twice” Latin · Latin bis 'twice'
  2. cuit “cooked” Old French · French cuit 'cooked', from Latin coctus — twice-baked to keep

First dug June 17, 2026 Wiktionary ↗

monolith literally “single-stone”

  1. mono “single, one” Greek · monos — alone, only
  2. lith “stone” Greek · lithos — stone

First dug June 18, 2026 Wiktionary ↗

centipede literally “hundred-foot”

  1. centi “hundred” Latin · Latin centum
  2. pede “foot” Latin · Latin pes, pedis

First dug June 19, 2026 Wiktionary ↗

manuscript literally “hand-written”

  1. manu “hand” Latin · manus — hand
  2. script “written” Latin · scribere — to write

First dug June 21, 2026 Wiktionary ↗

menu literally “small, detailed”

  1. menu “a detailed list” Old French · French menu 'detailed list', from Latin minūtus 'small' — one piece; the 'men' in front means nothing here

First dug June 22, 2026 Wiktionary ↗

walnut literally “foreign nut”

  1. wal “foreign” Old English · Old English wealh 'foreign' — the same root hiding inside 'Welsh'
  2. nut “nut” Old English · Old English hnutu 'nut'

First dug June 23, 2026 Wiktionary ↗

algebra literally “the restoration of broken parts”

  1. al “the” Arabic · Arabic al- 'the', as in 'alchemy'
  2. gebra “restoration” Arabic · Arabic jabr 'restoration, reuniting broken parts' — from al-Khwarizmi's treatise

First dug June 24, 2026 Wiktionary ↗

omnivore literally “all-devourer”

  1. omni “all” Latin · omnis — all
  2. vore “to devour” Latin · vorare — to devour

First dug June 25, 2026 Wiktionary ↗

candidate literally “white-robed one”

  1. candid “shining white” Latin · Latin candidus 'shining white' — Roman office-seekers wore bleached white togas
  2. ate “one marked” Latin · Latin -atus, 'one marked by'

First dug June 26, 2026 Wiktionary ↗

manufacture literally “made by hand”

  1. manu “hand” Latin · Latin manus 'hand', as in 'manual'
  2. facture “a making” Latin · Latin factura 'a making', from facere 'to make'

First dug June 28, 2026 Wiktionary ↗

comet literally “long-haired star”

  1. comet “long-haired star” Greek · Greek komētēs 'long-haired', from komē 'hair' — borrowed whole; 'com-' is not a prefix here

First dug June 29, 2026 Wiktionary ↗