etymological

American  

[et-uh-muh-lahj-ik-uhl] / ˌɛt ə məˈlɑdʒ ɪk əl /

adjective

1. of or relating to etymology.

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Other Word Forms

• etymologically adverb
• nonetymological adjective
• unetymological adjective

Explanation

Something etymological relates to the way a word originated. You can look up a word's roots and the history of how it came to get its meaning in an etymological dictionary. Etymology is the history of words, including the way they've changed through the years. The adjective etymological describes anything that has to do with etymology. Etymological research of English words often leads back to Old English, Greek, or Latin roots. The etymological origin of etymological, in fact, is Greek: the root word etymologia means "study of the true sense of a word."

Example Sentences

So let us put this down as etymological overreach by Mr. Dalrymple.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

“India” has etymological roots in the Indus River, which was called “Sindhu” in Sanskrit.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 7, 2023

“For the Calendar, I wanted to go back to the etymological root of the word ‘muse’.

From Reuters • Nov. 16, 2022

The word was used as early as the 16th century by European travelers in the East Indies, and it may have etymological origins in Arabic, Chinese, Greek and Urdu.

From New York Times • Nov. 2, 2022

The misconception is so common that it has been given a name: the etymological fallacy.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• grammatical