etymon

[ et-uh-mon ]
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noun,plural et·y·mons, et·y·ma [et-uh-muh]. /ˈɛt ə mə/.
  1. the linguistic form from which another form is historically derived, as the Latin cor “heart,” which is the etymon of English cordial, or the Indo-European *ḱ(e)rd-, which is the etymon of Latin cor, Greek kardía, Russian serdtse, and English heart.

Origin of etymon

1
1560–70; <Latin: the origin of a word <Greek étymon the essential meaning of a word seen in its origin or traced to its grammatical parts (neuter of étymos true, actual, real)

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British Dictionary definitions for etymon

etymon

/ (ˈɛtɪˌmɒn) /


nounplural -mons or -ma (-mə)
  1. a form of a word or morpheme, usually the earliest recorded form or a reconstructed form, from which another word or morpheme is derived: the etymon of English "ewe" is Indo-European " * owi"

Origin of etymon

1
C16: via Latin, from Greek etumon basic meaning, from etumos true, actual

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