Etymonline English Dictionary

88 of 100 · reviews
4.9of 5 · store
11,518ratings on the App Store
404reviews read

An editorial reading of the saved reviews

Not a language course in the traditional sense, but the best tool for deeply understanding English vocabulary through etymology. It helps words stick for good, unpacks Latin and Greek roots, and clarifies shades of meaning. Functionality is minimal but precise.

Screenshots

What people use it for

Native speakers and advanced learners who want to understand English from the inside rather than just know words.

What reviews praise

Lightning-fast search, an authorial voice with humor, and word roots on the home screen as a starting point for exploration.
Users spend hours falling down etymological rabbit holes.

What reviews complain about

Does not teach speaking and provides no grammar.
Narrow focus: word origins only.
Without a foundation in English the app is nearly useless.

What users experience

2 excerpts from the breakdown. These are individual cases, not a verdict on all users.

I hate to sound cheesy and typical and say this is the best app ever but it is lol. I honestly use this app first and when I don't have access to the app, I use the web browser. To truly understand the definition of a word the etymology is the key.

The modern world has no shortage of dry wit, but Etymonline is both funny and incisive, making the expository paragraphs more compelling by their unique voice. The app itself is bare-bones, but easy to use. The cross-references in the entries make it easy to fall down the rabbit hole.