The word etymology means

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

«Etymologies» redirects here. For the work by Isidore of Seville, see Etymologiae.

Etymology ( ET-im-OL-ə-jee^[1]) is the study of the origin and evolution of a word’s semantic meaning across time, including its constituent morphemes and phonemes.^[2][3] It is a subfield of historical linguistics, and draws upon comparative semantics, morphology, semiotics, and phonetics.

For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts, and texts about the language, to gather knowledge about how words were used during earlier periods, how they developed in meaning and form, or when and how they entered the language. Etymologists also apply the methods of comparative linguistics to reconstruct information about forms that are too old for any direct information to be available. By analyzing related languages with a technique known as the comparative method, linguists can make inferences about their shared parent language and its vocabulary. In this way, word roots in many European languages, for example, can be traced all the way back to the origin of the Indo-European language family.

Even though etymological research originated from the philological tradition, much current etymological research is done on language families where little or no early documentation is available, such as Uralic and Austronesian.

Etymology[edit]

The word etymology derives from the Greek word ἐτυμολογία (etumología), itself from ἔτυμον (étumon), meaning «true sense or sense of a truth», and the suffix -logia, denoting «the study of».^[4][5]

The term etymon refers to a word or morpheme (e.g., stem^[6] or root^[7]) from which a later word or morpheme derives. For example, the Latin word candidus, which means «white», is the etymon of English candid. Relationships are often less transparent, however. English place names such as Winchester, Gloucester, Tadcaster share in different modern forms a suffixed etymon that was once meaningful, Latin castrum ‘fort’.

Methods[edit]

Etymologists apply a number of methods to study the origins of words, some of which are:

• Philological research. Changes in the form and meaning of the word can be traced with the aid of older texts, if such are available.
• Making use of dialectological data. The form or meaning of the word might show variations between dialects, which may yield clues about its earlier history.
• The comparative method. By a systematic comparison of related languages, etymologists may often be able to detect which words derive from their common ancestor language and which were instead later borrowed from another language.
• The study of semantic change. Etymologists must often make hypotheses about changes in the meaning of particular words. Such hypotheses are tested against the general knowledge of semantic shifts. For example, the assumption of a particular change of meaning may be substantiated by showing that the same type of change has occurred in other languages as well.

Types of word origins[edit]

Etymological theory recognizes that words originate through a limited number of basic mechanisms, the most important of which are language change, borrowing (i.e., the adoption of «loanwords» from other languages); word formation such as derivation and compounding; and onomatopoeia and sound symbolism (i.e., the creation of imitative words such as «click» or «grunt»).

While the origin of newly emerged words is often more or less transparent, it tends to become obscured through time due to sound change or semantic change. Due to sound change, it is not readily obvious that the English word set is related to the word sit (the former is originally a causative formation of the latter). It is even less obvious that bless is related to blood (the former was originally a derivative with the meaning «to mark with blood»).

Semantic change may also occur. For example, the English word bead originally meant «prayer». It acquired its modern meaning through the practice of counting the recitation of prayers by using beads.

History[edit]

The search for meaningful origins for familiar or strange words is far older than the modern understanding of linguistic evolution and the relationships of languages, which began no earlier than the 18th century. From Antiquity through the 17th century, from Pāṇini to Pindar to Sir Thomas Browne, etymology had been a form of witty wordplay, in which the supposed origins of words were creatively imagined to satisfy contemporary requirements; for example, the Greek poet Pindar (born in approximately 522 BCE) employed inventive etymologies to flatter his patrons. Plutarch employed etymologies insecurely based on fancied resemblances in sounds. Isidore of Seville’s Etymologiae was an encyclopedic tracing of «first things» that remained uncritically in use in Europe until the sixteenth century. Etymologicum genuinum is a grammatical encyclopedia edited at Constantinople in the ninth century, one of several similar Byzantine works. The thirteenth-century Legenda Aurea, as written by Jacobus de Varagine, begins each vita of a saint with a fanciful excursus in the form of an etymology.^[8]

Ancient Sanskrit[edit]

The Sanskrit linguists and grammarians of ancient India were the first to make a comprehensive analysis of linguistics and etymology. The study of Sanskrit etymology has provided Western scholars with the basis of historical linguistics and modern etymology. Four of the most famous Sanskrit linguists are:

• Yaska (c. 6th–5th centuries BCE)
• Pāṇini (c. 520–460 BCE)
• Kātyāyana (6th-4th centuries BCE)
• Patañjali (2nd century BCE)

These linguists were not the earliest Sanskrit grammarians, however. They followed a line of ancient grammarians of Sanskrit who lived several centuries earlier like Sakatayana of whom very little is known. The earliest of attested etymologies can be found in Vedic literature in the philosophical explanations of the Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads.

The analyses of Sanskrit grammar done by the previously mentioned linguists involved extensive studies on the etymology (called Nirukta or Vyutpatti in Sanskrit) of Sanskrit words, because the ancient Indians considered sound and speech itself to be sacred and, for them, the words of the sacred Vedas contained deep encoding of the mysteries of the soul and God.

Ancient Greco-Roman[edit]

One of the earliest philosophical texts of the Classical Greek period to address etymology was the Socratic dialogue Cratylus (c. 360 BCE) by Plato. During much of the dialogue, Socrates makes guesses as to the origins of many words, including the names of the gods. In his Odes Pindar spins complimentary etymologies to flatter his patrons. Plutarch (Life of Numa Pompilius) spins an etymology for pontifex, while explicitly dismissing the obvious, and actual «bridge-builder»:

The priests, called Pontifices…. have the name of Pontifices from potens, powerful because they attend the service of the gods, who have power and command overall. Others make the word refer to exceptions of impossible cases; the priests were to perform all the duties possible; if anything lays beyond their power, the exception was not to be cavilled. The most common opinion is the most absurd, which derives this word from pons, and assigns the priests the title of bridge-makers. The sacrifices performed on the bridge were amongst the most sacred and ancient, and the keeping and repairing of the bridge attached, like any other public sacred office, to the priesthood.

Medieval[edit]

Isidore of Seville compiled a volume of etymologies to illuminate the triumph of religion. Each saint’s legend in Jacobus de Varagine’s Legenda Aurea begins with an etymological discourse on the saint’s name:

Lucy is said of light, and light is beauty in beholding, after that S. Ambrose saith: The nature of light is such, she is gracious in beholding, she spreadeth over all without lying down, she passeth in going right without crooking by right long line; and it is without dilation of tarrying, and therefore it is showed the blessed Lucy hath beauty of virginity without any corruption; essence of charity without disordinate love; rightful going and devotion to God, without squaring out of the way; right long line by continual work without negligence of slothful tarrying. In Lucy is said, the way of light.^[9]

Modern era[edit]

Etymology in the modern sense emerged in the late 18th-century European academia, within the context of the wider «Age of Enlightenment,» although preceded by 17th century pioneers such as Marcus Zuerius van Boxhorn, Gerardus Vossius, Stephen Skinner, Elisha Coles, and William Wotton. The first known systematic attempt to prove the relationship between two languages on the basis of similarity of grammar and lexicon was made in 1770 by the Hungarian, János Sajnovics, when he attempted to demonstrate the relationship between Sami and Hungarian (work that was later extended to the whole Finno-Ugric language family in 1799 by his fellow countryman, Samuel Gyarmathi).^[10]

The origin of modern historical linguistics is often traced to Sir William Jones, a Welsh philologist living in India, who in 1782 observed the genetic relationship between Sanskrit, Greek and Latin. Jones published his The Sanscrit Language in 1786, laying the foundation for the field of Indo-European linguistics.^[11]

The study of etymology in Germanic philology was introduced by Rasmus Christian Rask in the early 19th century and elevated to a high standard with the German Dictionary of the Brothers Grimm. The successes of the comparative approach culminated in the Neogrammarian school of the late 19th century. Still in the 19th century, German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche used etymological strategies (principally and most famously in On the Genealogy of Morals, but also elsewhere) to argue that moral values have definite historical (specifically, cultural) origins where modulations in meaning regarding certain concepts (such as «good» and «evil») show how these ideas had changed over time—according to which value-system appropriated them. This strategy gained popularity in the 20th century, and philosophers, such as Jacques Derrida, have used etymologies to indicate former meanings of words to de-center the «violent hierarchies» of Western philosophy.

Notable etymologists[edit]

• Ernest Klein (1899-1983), Hungarian-born Romanian-Canadian linguist, etymologist
• Marko Snoj (born 1959), Indo-Europeanist, Slavist, Albanologist, lexicographer, and etymologist
• Anatoly Liberman (born 1937), linguist, medievalist, etymologist, poet, translator of poetry and literary critic
• Michael Quinion (born c. 1943)

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

• Alfred Bammesberger. English Etymology. Heidelberg: Carl Winter, 1984.
• Philip Durkin. «Etymology», in Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, 2nd edn. Ed. Keith Brown. Vol. 4. Oxford: Elsevier, 2006, pp. 260–7.
• Philip Durkin. The Oxford Guide to Etymology. Oxford/NY: Oxford University Press, 2009.
• William B. Lockwood. An Informal Introduction to English Etymology. Montreux, London: Minerva Press, 1995.
• Yakov Malkiel. Etymology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
• Alan S. C. Ross. Etymology, with a special reference to English. Fair Lawn, N.J.: Essential Books; London: Deutsch, 1958.
• Michael Samuels. Linguistic Evolution: With Special Reference to English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972.
• Bo Svensén. «Etymology», chap. 19 of A Handbook of Lexicography: The Theory and Practice of Dictionary-Making. Cambridge/NY: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
• Walther von Wartburg. Problems and Methods in Linguistics, rev. edn. with the collaboration of Stephen Ullmann. Trans. Joyce M. H. Reid. Oxford: Blackwell, 1969.

External links[edit]

• Media related to Etymology at Wikimedia Commons
• Etymology at Curlie.
• List of etymologies of words in 90+ languages.
• Online Etymology Dictionary.

For etymology on Wiktionary, see Wiktionary:Etymology.

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English ethymologie, from Old French ethimologie, from Latin etymologia, from Ancient Greek ἐτυμολογία (etumología), from ἔτυμον (étumon, “true sense”) and -λογία (-logía, “study of”), from λόγος (lógos, “word; explanation”).

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ĕt’ĭ-mŏlʹə-jē; IPA^(key): /ˌɛt.ɪˈmɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/
• (General American) enPR: ĕt’ə-mŏlʹə-jē; IPA^(key): /ˌɛt.əˈmɑl.ə.d͡ʒi/
• Hyphenation: e‧ty‧mo‧lo‧gy
• Rhymes: -ɒlədʒi

Noun[edit]

etymology (countable and uncountable, plural etymologies)

1. (uncountable, linguistics) The study of the historical development of languages, particularly as manifested in individual words.
2. (countable) The origin and historical development of a word; the derivation.

   • 2018, James Lambert, “A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity”, in English World-Wide‎^[1], page 13:

     The etymology of the term Japlish is disputed and contentiously so.

   Although written the same, the words lead (the metal) and lead (the verb) have totally different etymologies.

3. (countable) An account of the origin and historical development of a word as presented in a dictionary or the like.
4. (countable) The direct origin of a name, as in who someone was named after.

   • 1996, The Rock:

     I’m sure you know the etymology of your name, Goodspeed.

Usage notes[edit]

• Not to be confused with entomology (“the study of insects”) or etiology (“the study of causes or origins”).
• Not to be confused with the origin of the object or person the word refers to.

Hyponyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

[edit]

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

• “etymology”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
• “etymology”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• «etymology» in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.

There seems little room for doubt: the acronym etymology is not valid. ❋ Unknown (2009)

Since etymology is destiny, and right there in its original form 1000 years ago is twain, prescriptivists argue that between is illogical when more than two things are being discussed. ❋ Unknown (2009)

A folk etymology is one that is widely believed but which is unfounded linguistically, though often it ‘seems’ right. ❋ Unknown (2009)

First, despite what Wittgenstein said, etymology is not destiny*. ❋ Unknown (2009)

The word’s etymology is traced to the late 19th Century, «perhaps from French esquiver, ` dodge, slink away. ‘» ❋ Maxine (2009)

Its etymology is interesting in this context, as the word – inevitably (?) – points toward the very value of words, aligns a trajectory to Logos. ❋ Unknown (2009)

Knowledge of etymology is completely unnecessary for using a language. ❋ Unknown (2010)

Ultimately, because the basic elements of Leibniz’s thought (symbolic logic and metaphysics) betray the influence of his early thinking about artificial languages and his lifelong interest in etymology, one should emphasize that Leibniz’s formulation of ontological substance (monads) and his understanding of logical procedures reflect, essentially, a conception of linguistic being. ❋ Unknown (2008)

Its etymology is connected to the verb stem * — dàŋg, «to shine brightly.» ❋ Unknown (2008)

Its etymology is suggestive of interactions among one or both groups with an Eastern Sahelian speech community who used either * wèr or * wèd to name a type of «mud.» ❋ Unknown (2008)

Aspiration and inspiration share a common etymology from the Latin and old French referencing a form of divine awareness, sometimes called «a quickening» or «the breath of life.» ❋ Unknown (2009)

Etymology in action:
«The [etymologist] spent hours describing the origin of the word «nice» to the students. Unfortunately no one understood what he was talking about and were all in a deep slumber after 10 minutes.»
«[The dean] spent weeks trying to track down the entymologist to give a lecture on the derivation of the word ‘aunt.’ When the entymologist finally arrived discussing the workings of one of the most interesting insects on Earth, [the dean] was promptly fired for being a fraud.» ❋ Psiscott (2006)

The [etymologist] pointed out that his profession could not be [entomology] because «entomology» comes from the Ancient Greek word «entomos», meaning «cut», whereas «etymology» came from the Ancient Greek word «etú[mos]», meaning «true» ❋ Etymologynerd (2019)

[Bill Kristol] is being an etymological terrorist when he calls people who don’t want to always be involved in a war «isolationists» when in fact [isolationism] is what [North Korea] has and non-interventionism is what Switzerland has. ❋ Gunguy (2016)

I [butt-fucked] my girlfriend last night and she got the cutest little Dirty Sanchez when she sucked me clean. Thus [the Dirty Sanchez] (etymological) is an artifact of another act—it just happens; [no fingers] needed. ❋ Sterling Pfeffernüsse (2011)

Well, [Bernard], that is some [Monty Pythonesque application of the principles of logic and etymology] [right there]! ❋ PetersonE1 (2017)

Last Updated:
13 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences

The etymology of a word refers to its origin and historical development: that is, its earliest known use, its transmission from one language to another, and its changes in form and meaning. Etymology is also the term for the branch of linguistics that studies word histories.

What’s the Difference Between a Definition and an Etymology?

A definition tells us what a word means and how it’s used in our own time. An etymology tells us where a word came from (often, but not always, from another language) and what it used to mean.

For example, according to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the definition of the word disaster is «an occurrence causing widespread destruction and distress; a catastrophe» or «a grave misfortune.» But the etymology of the word disaster takes us back to a time when people commonly blamed great misfortunes on the influence of the stars.

Disaster first appeared in English in the late 16th century, just in time for Shakespeare to use the word in the play King Lear. It arrived by way of the Old Italian word disastro, which meant «unfavorable to one’s stars.»

This older, astrological sense of disaster becomes easier to understand when we study its Latin root word, astrum, which also appears in our modern «star» word astronomy. With the negative Latin prefix dis- («apart») added to astrum («star»), the word (in Latin, Old Italian, and Middle French) conveyed the idea that a catastrophe could be traced to the «evil influence of a star or planet» (a definition that the dictionary tells us is now «obsolete»).

Is the Etymology of a Word Its True Definition?

Not at all, though people sometimes try to make this argument. The word etymology is derived from the Greek word etymon, which means «the true sense of a word.» But in fact the original meaning of a word is often different from its contemporary definition.

The meanings of many words have changed over time, and older senses of a word may grow uncommon or disappear entirely from everyday use. Disaster, for instance, no longer means the «evil influence of a star or planet,» just as consider no longer means «to observe the stars.»

Let’s look at another example. Our English word salary is defined by The American Heritage Dictionary as «fixed compensation for services, paid to a person on a regular basis.» Its etymology can be traced back 2,000 years to sal, the Latin word for salt. So what’s the connection between salt and salary?

The Roman historian Pliny the Elder tells us that «in Rome, a soldier was paid in salt,» which back then was widely used as a food preservative. Eventually, this salarium came to signify a stipend paid in any form, usually money. Even today the expression «worth your salt» indicates that you’re working hard and earning your salary. However, this doesn’t mean that salt is the true definition of salary.

Where Do Words Come From?

New words have entered (and continue to enter) the English language in many different ways. Here are some of the most common methods.

• Borrowing
  The majority of the words used in modern English have been borrowed from other languages. Although most of our vocabulary comes from Latin and Greek (often by way of other European languages), English has borrowed words from more than 300 different languages around the world. Here are just a few examples:
  futon (from the Japanese word for «bedclothes, bedding»)
• hamster (Middle High German hamastra)
• kangaroo (Aboriginal language of Guugu Yimidhirr, gangurru , referring to a species of kangaroo)
• kink (Dutch, «twist in a rope»)
• moccasin (Native American Indian, Virginia Algonquian, akin to Powhatan mäkäsn and Ojibwa makisin)
• molasses (Portuguese melaços, from Late Latin mellceum, from Latin mel, «honey»)
• muscle (Latin musculus, «mouse»)
• slogan (alteration of Scots slogorne, «battle cry»)
• smorgasbord (Swedish, literally «bread and butter table»)
• whiskey (Old Irish uisce, «water,» and bethad, «of life»)
• Clipping or Shortening
  Some new words are simply shortened forms of existing words, for instance indie from independent; exam from examination; flu from influenza, and fax from facsimile.
• Compounding
  A new word may also be created by combining two or more existing words: fire engine, for example, and babysitter.
• Blends
  A blend, also called a portmanteau word, is a word formed by merging the sounds and meanings of two or more other words. Examples include moped, from mo(tor) + ped(al), and brunch, from br(eakfast) + (l)unch.
• Conversion or Functional Shift
  New words are often formed by changing an existing word from one part of speech to another. For example, innovations in technology have encouraged the transformation of the nouns network, Google, and microwave into verbs.
• Transfer of Proper Nouns
  Sometimes the names of people, places, and things become generalized vocabulary words. For instance, the noun maverick was derived from the name of an American cattleman, Samuel Augustus Maverick. The saxophone was named after Sax, the surname of a 19th-century Belgian family that made musical instruments.
• Neologisms or Creative Coinages
  Now and then, new products or processes inspire the creation of entirely new words. Such neologisms are usually short lived, never even making it into a dictionary. Nevertheless, some have endured, for example quark (coined by novelist James Joyce), galumph (Lewis Carroll), aspirin (originally a trademark), grok (Robert A. Heinlein).
• Imitation of Sounds
  Words are also created by onomatopoeia, naming things by imitating the sounds that are associated with them: boo, bow-wow, tinkle, click.

Why Should We Care About Word Histories?

If a word’s etymology is not the same as its definition, why should we care at all about word histories? Well, for one thing, understanding how words have developed can teach us a great deal about our cultural history. In addition, studying the histories of familiar words can help us deduce the meanings of unfamiliar words, thereby enriching our vocabularies. Finally, word stories are often both entertaining and thought provoking. In short, as any youngster can tell you, words are fun.

We can imagine words as travelers: they start off young and one-dimensional in one part of the world, and travel around linguistic families, gaining and shedding meaning as they go. Their spelling and pronunciation morph and change, but they’re usually still recognizable as their younger selves. Sometimes, they get so old they stop traveling and drop off the map. Sometimes, they’re bold and they jump from one linguistic family to another. The history and journey of words is pretty fascinating, so read on to find out more about etymology in English, the study of the origin of words.

• What is etymology?
• Etymology in the English language
• 8 English words with an interesting etymology

What is etymology?

Ever wondered why some languages have a lot of words in common? Etymology can tell you why. Etymology is the study of the history of words, or the study of word origins. It traces a word from its earliest beginnings to where it is now and looks at all the places it stopped in between.  

Etymology in the English language

A lot of English words come from Latin, often via French. Similar words can be found in other Latin-based languages like Italian and Romanian. Many other English words come from Germanic languages, and similar words appear in languages like Dutch and German. 

How can etymology help me?

Etymology can help you understand your native language better. It can also teach you about the common root of words in several languages. That often means that you can recognize words in other languages without being told exactly what they mean. 

Take the word ‘robot’ which comes from the Czech word robotnik meaning ‘laborer’. You can see variations of the word robotnik in lots of other Slavic languages meaning ‘worker’ or ‘manual laborer’, as well as the word robota, meaning ‘work’. Learning the root of one word allows you to understand words in a host of different languages. Etymology can help you take some shortcuts in language learning and who doesn’t want that? 

8 English words with an interesting etymology

1. Dungarees

The word ‘dungarees’ comes from the Hindi word dungri. The meaning of dungri is ‘coarse calico’ (the material dungarees were originally made of) and it comes from the village of Dungri, which was just outside Mumbai, and was where dungarees were originally made. 

2. Whiskey

The origin of the word ‘whiskey’ is, not surprisingly, Gaelic, a language used in Ireland and Scotland. Uisge beatha or usquebaugh is the Gaelic word for whiskey and it was corrupted into English as ‘whiskey’. It translates as ‘water of life’, which is fitting for when you’re drinking it but maybe not so much for the day after.  

3. Clue

This word is a different spelling of the Germanic word clew which means a ball of thread or yarn. It originally comes from the ‘clew of thread’ which was to Theseus to use as a guide out of the Labyrinth in Greek mythology. This is a good example of a word gaining meaning, because nowadays, when you say “Give me a clue”, you don’t want a ball of yarn, you want some helpful information. 

4. Tattoo

Tattoo comes from the Polynesian words ta-tau or ta-tu, both of which mean ‘mark on the skin’. It first popped up in English in the late 18th century after Captain Cook returned to England from Tahiti, where he had seen people with lots of tattoos. 

5. Safari

The Arabic word for ‘journey’ or ‘expedition’ is safar, and this is the origin of the word ‘safari’. The word travelled from Arabic into Swahili, and then on into English in the mid 19th century. It’s now used in English to talk about a journey into the wild to see animals in their natural environments. 

6. Hooch

‘Hooch’ is a slang word for alcohol in English, especially strong alcohol which is brewed illegally at home. It’s a shortened form of Hoochinoo, which was the name of an indigenous Alaskan group who made liquor. This so-called hooch (which was apparently pretty nasty tasting) became popular with miners during the 1898 Klondike gold rush and the word has remained in English since. 

7. Barbarian

This word comes from Ancient Greek; originally barbaros, it was used to talk about anyone who didn’t speak Greek. This is because the sounds made by foreigners sounded like ‘ba-ba-ba’ to Greek ears. Its negative meaning was added by the Romans, who called any foreigners who didn’t follow Roman traditions ‘barbarians’. 

8. Berserk 

Quite a few words in English also come from the Viking language of Old Norse. ‘Berserk’ is one of these words. It is used in modern English to mean ‘furiously violent or angry’. It’s probably from the Norse words ber ‘bear’ and serkr ‘shirt’, literally ‘a warrior clothed in bearskin’. 

Which words in your language do you think share etymological roots with English ones?

Laura is a freelance writer and was an ESL teacher for eight years. She was born in the UK and has lived in Australia and Poland, where she writes blogs for Lingoda about everything from grammar to dating English speakers. She’s definitely better at the first one. She loves travelling and that’s the other major topic that she writes on. Laura likes pilates and cycling, but when she’s feeling lazy she can be found curled up watching Netflix. She’s currently learning Polish, and her battle with that mystifying language has given her huge empathy for anyone struggling to learn English. Find out more about her work in her portfolio.

Mouse – a device used to direct the cursor of a computer

From the Latin etymology, which in turn has its origin in a Greek word, etymology is a linguistic specialty that studies the origin of words by considering their existence, meaning, and form. We are describing here the  Etymology meaning and examples

1) a section of linguistics that studies the origin of semantic unit of a text. In other words;

2) any hypothesis about the origin of a particular word (less often – another linguistic unit,

for example, a suffix or idiomatic expression). This latter understanding distinguishes between “near etymology” – the identification of derivational connections of a word with other words of the same language that have darkened over time – and “distant etymology” – the identification of word connections outside the language in question

Classifications

Etymology is subdivided into linguistics as popular etymology, paretology etymology, cross etymology or associative etymology, this is what the pseudoscientific method of explaining the origins of semantic unit of a text. In other words is called, which is fundamentally based on popular beliefs and traditions, using similarities with similar voices or homophones and thus trying to find the relationships between their meanings.

This has several ways of appearance:

1. Popular etymology by paronymic attraction.
2. Popular etymology due to sporadic phonetic change.
3. Popular etymology by semantic analogy.

25 Examples of word etymology:

1. Anthropology . It comes from the Greek anthropo- (which means ‘man’) and the Greek lógos (which means ‘treatise’). Meaning of the word: ‘science that studies the human being’.
2. Anthropoid . It comes from the Greek anthropo- (which means ‘man’) and the Greek eïdos (which means ‘aspect’, ‘form’). Meaning of the word: ‘that looks like or resembles the human being’.
3. Action . It comes from the Latin actio, actiōnis : actus (which means ‘something that is carried out’) and the suffix -cion (which means ‘action and effect’). Meaning of the word: ‘the result of doing something’.
4. Lycanthropy. It comes from the Greek lykanthrōpía ( λυκανθρωπία ): lýkos ​​(which means ‘wolf’) and antropos- (which means ‘man’). Meaning of the word: ‘transformation of a human being into a wolf’, ‘mental disorder in which a person believes that he has become a wolf’.
5. Misfortune . It comes from the Latin infortunium : prefix in- (with a sense of negation) + Fortūna (which means ‘luck’) + suffix – io (which means ‘result’). Meaning of the word: ‘adverse fortune’, ‘state or result of having bad luck’.
6. Denial . It comes from the Latin negatio : negare (to say no) and the suffix -cion (which means ‘action and effect’). Meaning of the word: ‘the action and the effect of saying no or denying something’.
7. Lack . It comes from the Latin carentia : carere (which means ‘deprivation of something’) and the suffix -ia (which means ‘quality’). Meaning of the word: ‘deprivation or lack of something’.
8. Philanthropy . It comes from the Greek philanthrōpía (φιλανθρωπία) : philos (which means ‘friend’) and the Greek anthropo- (which means ‘man’). Meaning of the word: ‘love to the human being’.
9. Android . It comes from the modern Latin androids, and this one from the Greek, anḗr ( ἀνήρ) , andrós (ἀνδρός) which means ‘male’ and eïdos (which means ‘aspect’, ‘form’). Meaning of the word: ‘that looks like a man’, ‘automaton that has a human figure’.
10. Gynecology . It is formed by the prefix gynecologic that comes from the Greek gynaikos, gynē- (meaning ‘woman) and the Greek logos (meaning’ treaty ‘). Meaning of the word: ‘branch of medicine that studies the female reproductive system’
11. Psychology . It comes from the Greek psyché – (which means ‘soul’, ‘mind’) and the Greek lógos (which means ‘treatise’). Meaning of the word: ‘science that studies the human mind and behavior’
12. Etymology . It comes from the Greek etymology ( ἐτυμολογία ): from etymos (which means ‘true’), the Greek lógos (which means ‘treatise’, ‘word’) and the suffix – ia (which means ‘quality’). Meaning of the word: ‘origin of the meaning and form of the words‘.
13. Gastronomy . It comes from the Greek gastronomy ( γαστρονομία) : from gaster, gastrós (which means ‘stomach’), nomos (which means ‘rule’) and the suffix – ia (which means ‘quality’). Meaning of the word: ‘art or quality of preparing food well’
14. Cacophony . It comes from the Greek kakophōnía ( κακοφωνία): from kakós (which means ‘bad’ or ‘bad’), the Greek phoné (which means ‘sound’) and the suffix – ia (which means ‘quality’). Meaning of the word: ‘combination of sounds that is not harmonic’
15. Sound . It comes from the Latin sonĭtus : from sonare (which means ‘to produce or make a sound’) and the suffix – ido (which means ‘something that can be perceived by the senses’). Meaning of the word: ‘sensation in the auditory apparatus caused by the vibration of the bodies’.
16. Euphoria . It comes from the Greek euphoría (εὐφορία) which means ‘easy capacity to endure’, ‘quality of supporting something’ or ‘feeling of well-being’. Meaning of the word: ‘enthusiasm or optimism’.
17. Way . It comes from the vulgar Latin cammīnus and this in turn is of Celtic origin. Meaning of the word: ‘land through which one travels’, ‘direction that is followed’, ‘mode of behavior’.
18. Wolf . It comes from the Latin lupus . Word Meaning: ‘Sharp-headed, hairy, wild carnivorous mammal’
19. Wild . It comes from Catalan and Occitan salvatge ; this in turn from the French sauvage, and this from the Latin silvaticus : silva (jungle). Meaning of the word: ‘that grows without being cultivated’, ‘undomesticated animal’, ‘something primitive or uncivilized’
20. Hydraulic . It comes from the Latin hydraulĭcus, and this to its z from the Greek gr. hydraulikós (ὑδραυλικός) which refers to a ‘musical organ moved by water‘. Meaning of the word: ‘that is moved by means of water‘.
21. Ephebology . It comes from the Greek éphebos- (which means ‘adolescent’; from epí which is ‘en’ + hébe which means ‘adolescence’) and the Greek lógos (which means ‘treatise’). Meaning of the word: ‘part of psychology that is dedicated to studying the stage of adolescence’.
22. Lord . It comes from the Latin senior, -ōris (which means ‘older’). Meaning of the word: ‘person who governs in a certain area’, ‘person who reaches a certain age’, ‘respectable person and of a certain category’.
23. Elder . It comes from the Latin antianus, this in turn is formed by the prefix ante- (which means ‘before’). Meaning of the word: ‘person of an advanced age’.
24. Biodegradable . It is formed by the prefix bio-, which comes from the Greek bíos (which means’ life ‘), and de degradar , a word which comes from the Latin degradāre : de- (‘ which goes from top to bottom) + gradus (which means ‘step’ or ‘rung’) + the suffix -able (which means ‘something that can’). Meaning of the word: ‘that can be degraded by biological action’)
25. Life . It comes from the Latin vita . Meaning of the word: ‘force or energy of organic beings’, ‘fact of being alive’.

Etymology and division of words

Words of any natural language can be – according to their origin – divided into the following groups

1.  original words, i.e. words inherited from the ancestor language (the most numerous group);
2.  words formed with the help of existing (or pre-existing) word-formation means in the language;
3.  words borrowed from other languages;
4.  artificially created words (a group not represented in all languages);
5.  words that have arisen as a result of various “language mistakes”.

Groups of words by origin and use

1-Common vocabulary Common vocabulary

includes words that are constantly used in speech and are known to all native speakers. These words, expressing the main life concepts, are the most important part of the language, represent its core. Most of the common vocabulary is stylistically neutral.

For example water, land, forest, bread, work, eat, head, etc.

2-Uncommon vocabulary.

These are words of limited use that are used by certain people in different professions, activities, or geographic areas.

The structure of non-common vocabulary includes dialectisms, jargon and professionalisms, and terms (special vocabulary).

3-Dialect vocabulary

Dialectal vocabulary consists of words characteristic of the speech of people living in the same area. As a rule, such vocabulary is used orally and represents the colloquial and everyday speech of rural residents.

For example vyadro (bucket), kochet (rooster), zhamki (gingerbread).

4-Slangs 

Slangs are words that are used in a speech by certain social groups of people. Slang vocabulary has a narrow sphere of use: it is used mainly when communicating with “friends”, with people of the same social circle.

Known, for example, youth, military, student, criminal, and other jargons.

For example computer (computer) lab (laboratory work), spur (cheat sheet).

5-Professionalisms and terms (special vocabulary)

Professional vocabulary is used in certain areas of activity, professions, fields of science. The composition of such vocabulary includes words or phrases that name special concepts of any field of science, art, or production that have not become common. In explanatory dictionaries, terms and professionalisms are labeled “special”. Each area of ​​knowledge operates with its own professionalism and terms. By the way, there are differences between them.

Terms are special names for specific objects, phenomena, concepts.

For example a scalpel – from surgeons, the autonomy of will – from lawyers, thinning – from hairdressers.

Professionalisms are words that are rather characteristic of the speech of people engaged in a certain type of activity.

For example the steering wheel (steering wheel) – from the drivers, the ending (graphic decoration at the end of the book) – from the printers.