etymology Hear it!

etymology definition

ety·mol·ogy (-jē)

noun pl. etymologies -·gies

  1. the origin and development of a word, affix, phrase, etc.; the tracing of a word or other form back as far as possible in its own language and to its source in contemporary or earlier languages: in this dictionary etymologies are given in doubled brackets preceding the senses to which they apply
  2. the branch of linguistics dealing with word origin and development

Etymology: ME & OFr ethimologie < L etymologia < Gr: see etymon & -logy

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

telecom etymology definition - telecom

etymology Synonyms

etymology

n.

derivation, word origins, word history, development of vocabulary, historical linguistics, philology, onomastics; see also language 2.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

etymology Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • word: It mostly reflects on etymology of words in relation to gender.

Converse of object

  • give: World Wide Words An excellent site giving the etymology of abracadabra ( always a favorite of mine ) to zorbing.

Preposition: for

  • word: For example, we will provide an etymology for each word, regardless of whether it has a cognate form in English.

Adjective modifier

  • Greek: I work in a place of scholarship and it does not surprise me in the least that Greek etymology makes this a leisure center.

Noun used with modifier

  • folk: This has all the credentials of a ' folk etymology ' myth.
etymology usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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MLA Style

"etymology." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/etymology>

APA Style

etymology. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/etymology

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