etymology
playSimple Definition of etymology
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: an explanation of where a word came from : the history of a word
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: the study of word histories
Full Definition of etymology
plural etymologies
1 : the history of a linguistic form (as a word) shown by tracing its development since its earliest recorded occurrence in the language where it is found, by tracing its transmission from one language to another, by analyzing it into its component parts, by identifying its cognates in other languages, or by tracing it and its cognates to a common ancestral form in an ancestral language
2 : a branch of linguistics concerned with etymologies
Examples of etymology in a sentence
Visible just beneath the entries are tantalizing glimpses of the lexicographer's craft: scouring periodicals for fresh coinages, poring over competing dictionaries in search of elusive etymologies and hounding writers and scholars in the service of … “ear candy” or plain old “duh.” —Margalit Fox, New York Times Book Review, 18 June 1995
Professionals have always tried to seal the borders of their trade and to snipe at any outsider with a pretense to amateur enthusiasm (although amateurs who truly love their subject, as the etymology of their status proclaims, often acquire far more expertise than the average time-clock-punching breadwinner). —Stephen Jay Gould, Natural History, February 1991
True etymology, if there is such a thing, seeks to displace our attention back in time, to roots, whereas the “popular” variety tries to update words, to familiarize them where the so-called science estranges them. —Walter Redfern, Puns, 1984
Several different etymologies have been proposed.
Did You Know?
The etymology of etymology itself is relatively straightforward. Etymon means "origin of a word" in Latin, and comes from the Greek word etymon, meaning "literal meaning of a word according to its origin." Greek etymon in turn comes from etymos, which means "true." Be careful not to confuse etymology with the similar sounding entomology. Entomon means "insect" in Greek, and entomology is the study of bugs.
Origin of etymology
Middle English ethimologie, from Anglo-French, from Latin etymologia, from Greek, from etymon + -logia -logy
First Known Use: 14th century
Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms
ETYMOLOGY Defined for Kids
etymology
playDefinition of etymology for Students
plural etymologies
: the history of a word shown by tracing it or its parts back to the earliest known forms and meanings both in its own language and any other language from which it may have been taken
Learn More about etymology
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Spanish Central: Translation of "etymology" Nglish: Translation of "etymology" for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of "etymology" for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about "etymology"
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