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[ et-uh—mol—uh-jee ]
/ ˌɛt əˈmɒl ə dʒi /
This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.
noun, plural et·y·mol·o·gies.
the derivation of a word.
a chronological account of the birth and development of a particular word or element of a word, often delineating its spread from one language to another and its evolving changes in form and meaning.
the study of historical linguistic change, especially as manifested in individual words.
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Origin of etymology
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin etymologia, from Greek etymología, equivalent to etymológ(os) “studying the true meanings and values of words” (étymo(s) “true” + lógos “word, reason”) + -ia noun suffix; see etymon, -y3
historical usage of etymology
English etymology comes via Old French etimologie, ethimologie from Latin etymologia (which Cicero spells in Greek letters and glosses as veriloquium, Latin for “speaking the truth, conveying the truth”), a loan translation of the Greek etymología “analysis of a word to discover its true meaning.” Etymología is a compound of the neuter noun étymon “true meaning of a word according to its origin” (a neuter noun use of the adjective étymos “true”) and -logía, a Greek combining form used in forming the names of sciences or bodies of knowledge.
Ancient and medieval etymologies are mostly conjectures, puns, or folk etymologies, and are generally wildly incorrect. Cicero, for instance, gives the etymology of Venus (stem Vener- ), the goddess of love, as a derivation of the verb venīre “to come” because love and desire come to all. The most famous etymological howler in Latin is Lūcus a nōn lūcendō “Grove from there being no light,” a pun on lūcus “a clearing, grove” and lūcēre “to shine.” Lūcus a nōn lūcendō first appears in a commentary on the Aeneid by Maurus Servius Honoratus, a grammarian of the late 4th and early 5th centuries.
Common English folk etymologies include cockroach for Spanish cucaracha and chaise lounge for the correct chaise longue. In the case of cockroach, you have the unfamiliar Spanish sounds assimilating with two near-sounding English words, cock and roach. The longue in chaise longue means “long,” but to English readers, looks very close in spelling to lounge, which is a logical use for a chair that is made for reclining on.
Etymology in the sense “the linguistic science that investigates the origins of a word, its relationships with words in other languages, and its historical development in form and meaning” dates from the 1640s.
OTHER WORDS FROM etymology
et·y·mo·log·i·cal [et-uh-muh—loj-i-kuhl], /ˌɛt ə məˈlɒdʒ ɪ kəl/, et·y·mo·log·ic, adjectiveet·y·mo·log·i·cal·ly, adverbet·y·mol·o·gist, nounpseu·do·et·y·mo·log·i·cal, adjective
pseu·do·et·y·mo·log·i·cal·ly, adverbsub·et·y·mol·o·gy, noun, plural sub·et·y·mol·o·gies.un·et·y·mo·log·ic, adjectiveun·et·y·mo·log·i·cal, adjectiveun·et·y·mo·log·i·cal·ly, adverb
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH etymology
entomology, etymology
Words nearby etymology
ETV, et vir, ety., etym., etymologize, etymology, etymon, e-type, Etzel, Eu, eubacteria
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Words related to etymology
How to use etymology in a sentence
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If you sign up, you’ll get a daily notification on your phone to check out a term you may not have heard before and fun facts about the etymology of each.
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Builder is a word with Old English roots in the ideas “to be, exist, grow,” according to the Online Dictionary of Etymology.
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I moved to Washington in 1988 with the folk etymology of lobbyist firmly in mind.
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The Daily Beast reached out to Eschliman to ask about the definition and etymology of the term «Gaystapo.»
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Its origins and etymology are veiled in mystery: cha is Chinese for “tea,” but debates rage over those first two syllables.
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Since etymology is epicentral to politics, the new titles that the Republican and Democratic parties choose must be right.
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He understands this to mean «sheltered, secure from wind;» and he asks to what etymology this sense can be attributed.
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I would have made the Saracens descend from Sarah; the etymology would then have been neater.
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No amount of brainwork has conjured any sense from Iffley, and the etymology has been placed on the shelf as “unknown”.
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In a moment of noteworthy frankness Prof. Skeat has admitted that “Scientific etymology is usually clumsy and frequently wrong”.
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The official etymology of June is “probably from root of Latin juvenis, junior,” but where is the sense in this?
British Dictionary definitions for etymology
noun plural -gies
the study of the sources and development of words and morphemes
an account of the source and development of a word or morpheme
Derived forms of etymology
etymological (ˌɛtɪməˈlɒdʒɪkəl), adjectiveetymologically, adverbetymologist, noun
Word Origin for etymology
C14: via Latin from Greek etumologia; see etymon, -logy
Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
etymology
study of the history of words
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree
et·y·mol·o·gy
(ĕt′ə-mŏl′ə-jē)
n. pl. et·y·mol·o·gies
1. 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.
2. The branch of linguistics that deals with etymologies.
[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.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
etymology
(ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒɪ)
n, pl -gies
1. (Linguistics) the study of the sources and development of words and morphemes
2. (Linguistics) an account of the source and development of a word or morpheme
[C14: via Latin from Greek etumologia; see etymon, -logy]
etymological adj
ˌetymoˈlogically adv
ˌetyˈmologist n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
et•y•mol•o•gy
(ˌɛt əˈmɒl ə dʒi)
n., pl. -gies.
1. the history of a particular word or element of a word.
2. an account of the origin and development of a word or word element.
3. the study of historical linguistic change, esp. as manifested in individual words.
[1350–1400; Middle English < Latin etymologia < Greek etymología; see etymon, -logy]
et`y•mo•log′i•cal (-məˈlɒdʒ ɪ kəl) adj.
et`y•mo•log′i•cal•ly, adv.
et`y•mol′o•gist, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
etymology
the branch of linguistics that studies the origin and history of words. — etymologist, n. — etymologie, etymological, adj.
See also: Language
the study of the origin and history of individual words. — etymologist, n. — etymological, adj.
See also: Linguistics
-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
etymology
1. The study of the origins and development of words.
2. The study of the history of words, tracing them back to their earliest recorded forms.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
1
: the history of a linguistic form (such 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
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.
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples on the Web
In many European languages, the connections are harder to discern, having become hidden in the words’ etymologies.
—Melissa Mohr, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Apr. 2023
Though the concept has its own (dystopian) etymology and internal literary meaning, as The New Yorker’s Kyle Chayka explored last year, the word has been mercilessly whipped into unrecognizability in the hands of contemporary technological hype.
—Vulture, 19 Jan. 2022
The phrase’s morbid etymology was obvious enough.
—Jeff Winkler, The Atlantic, 30 Dec. 2020
First, a little etymology.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 17 Jan. 2011
Drag is one of those terms whose etymology is tough to discern.
—Kevin Fisher-paulson, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Mar. 2023
For days, the prosecution and defense dueled over the etymology of those seven words, at one point even debating the legacy of Malcolm X, the famed US civil rights leader .
—Mary Hui, Quartz, 28 July 2021
Strabo may have listened to people’s stories, done a bit of etymology, and started writing.
—Valerie Ross, Discover Magazine, 7 June 2011
While the etymology of this classic cake’s name might be slightly confusing, there’s nothing head-scratching about its flavor.
—Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, 31 Jan. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘etymology.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English ethimologie, from Anglo-French, from Latin etymologia, from Greek, from etymon + -logia -logy
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of etymology was
in the 14th century
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Dictionary Entries Near etymology
Cite this Entry
“Etymology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/etymology. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.
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More from Merriam-Webster on etymology
Last Updated:
13 Apr 2023
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
Other forms: etymologies
Since you’re reading this, then you probably have some interest in etymology, because it’s the study of the history and derivations of words.
What genealogy is to a family, etymology is to words. A genealogist studies the history of a family. A person who studies etymology does the same thing with words. Etymology looks at the roots of words — for example, whether they started out as Latin, Greek, or as some other language — and how they took on their current meaning. When you learn that the -logy part of etymology almost always means «the study of,» that is, in itself, etymology.
Definitions of etymology
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noun
the study of the sources and development of words
see moresee less-
types:
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lexicostatistics
a statistical technique used in glottochronology; used to estimate how long ago different languages evolved from a common source language
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type of:
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linguistics
the scientific study of language
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lexicostatistics
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘etymology’.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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Commonly confused words
entomology / etymology
Don’t bug out! Entomology is the study of insects, but etymology is the study of words. They sound similar and both end in -logy, which means “the study of,” but don’t mix them up unless you like completely confusing people.
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