etymology

et·y·mol·o·gy

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noun

The definition of etymology is the source of a word, or the study of the source of specific words.

An example of etymology is tracing a word back to its Latin roots.

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"Etymology." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Etymology.

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Etymology. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Etymology

etymology

noun

pl. -·gies

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
the branch of linguistics dealing with word origin and development

Origin of etymology

Middle English and Old French ethimologie from Classical Latin etymologia from Gr: see etymon and -logy

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MLA Style

"Etymology." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Etymology.

APA Style

Etymology. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Etymology

etymology

noun

pl. et·y·mol·o·gies

The origin and historical development of a linguistic form as shown by determining its basic elements, earliest known use, and changes in form and meaning, tracing its transmission from one language to another, identifying its cognates in other languages, and reconstructing its ancestral form where possible.
The branch of linguistics that deals with etymologies.

Origin of etymology

Middle English etimologie from Old French ethimologie from Medieval Latin ethimologia from Latin etymologia from Greek etumologiā etumon true sense of a word ; see etymon . -logiā -logy

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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MLA Style

"Etymology." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Etymology.

APA Style

Etymology. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Etymology

Noun For usage examples of this term, see the citations page.

(plural etymologies)

(uncountable) The study of the historical development of languages, particularly as manifested in individual words.
(countable) An account of the origin and historical development of a word.

Usage notes

Not to be confused with entomology (“the study of insects”) or etiology (“the study of causes or origins”).

Hyponyms

onomastics

Origin

From Middle English etimologie, from Old French ethimologie, from Latin etymologia, from Ancient Greek ἐτυμολογία (etumologia), from ἔτυμον (etumon, “true sense”) and -λογία (-logia, “study of”) (from λόγος (logos)).

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"Etymology." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Etymology.

APA Style

Etymology. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Etymology

etymology - Computer Definition

The study of the origin of words. Etymology is not to be confused with entomology, the branch of zoology concerned with the study of insects. See also bug.