Dictionary.com
definitions

etymology

[et-uh-mol-uh-jee]
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR etymology ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

RELATED CONTENT

Who Is The Amber In AMBER Alert?The term “AMBER Alert” has become synonymous with stories of missing children. So who is Amber? And why is her name blasted out to cellphones and on highway signs every time police need our help locating a child in danger? What is an AMBER Alert? First, the basics. In the suspected kidnapping of a child, an AMBER Alert is issued. This urgent bulletin is voluntarily …
READ MORE
Lexical Investigations: EtymologyEtymology For a word that originates from the Greek term etymon, which literally translates to “true sense,” etymology certainly has a lot of untruth surrounding its existence since it entered English in the late fourteenth century. Whenever linguists discuss the etymology of words and phrases, folk etymology inevitably arises. Sometimes speakers of English make a mistake so often that it becomes part of the language. …
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

origin, development, derivation, source, root, etymon

Nearby words

  1. etym.,
  2. etymological,
  3. etymologicon,
  4. etymologist,
  5. etymologize,
  6. etymon,
  7. etzel,
  8. eu,
  9. eu-,
  10. eubacteria

Origin of etymology

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin etymologia < Greek etymología, equivalent to etymológ(os) studying the true meanings and values of words (étymo(s) true (see etymon) + lógos word, reason) + -ia -y3
Related forms
Can be confusedentomology etymology
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for etymology

British Dictionary definitions for etymology

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 Formsetymological (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
Word Origin and History for etymology
n.

late 14c., ethimolegia "facts of the origin and development of a word," from Old French et(h)imologie (14c., Modern French étymologie), from Latin etymologia, from Greek etymologia, properly "study of the true sense (of a word)," from etymon "true sense" (neuter of etymos "true, real, actual," related to eteos "true") + -logia "study of, a speaking of" (see -logy).

In classical times, of meanings; later, of histories. Latinized by Cicero as veriloquium. As a branch of linguistic science, from 1640s. Related: Etymological; etymologically.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper