HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

palm·er

(pämər)

A medieval European pilgrim who carried a palm branch as a token of having visited the Holy Land.

[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman palmer, paumer, from Medieval Latin palmārius : Latin palma, palm; see PALM² + -ārius, n. suff.]

Palmer, Daniel David 1845-1913.

Canadian-born American healer who developed chiropractic medicine and founded a school of chiropractic that was later run by his son Bartlett Joshua (1881-1961).

Palmer, James Alvin Known as "Jim." Born 1945.

American baseball player. A right-handed pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles (1965-1984), he won 20 or more games during eight separate seasons and won the Cy Young Award three times (1973, 1975, and 1976).

Pal·mer

(pämər, päl-), Arnold Born 1929.

American golfer who was the first to win four Masters championships (1958, 1960, 1962, and 1964).

(click for a larger image)

Arnold Palmer

photographed in 2009

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

American Heritage Dictionary Products

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

THE USAGE PANEL

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

American Heritage Dictionary Products