etymon

American  

[et-uh-mon] / ˈɛt əˌmɒn /

noun

etymons, plural etyma plural

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.

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etymon British  

/ ˈɛtɪˌmɒn /

noun

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"

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• etyma
  plural
• etymons
  plural

Etymology

Origin of etymon

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)

Example Sentences

The etymon is in old English wrestling�to have on the hip; to render an opponent powerless because tractionless.

From Time Magazine Archive

I cannot admit any of these derivations, though perhaps my own etymon may not be deemed less irrelevant, viz. pellis, the skin of a beast, whence our English terms pell, pelt, peltry, &c.

From The Curiosities of Heraldry by Lower, Mark Antony

Arena is from the same etymon, altered in application.

From Lectures on Language As Particularly Connected with English Grammar. by Balch, William Stevens

Richardson is also in favour of this etymon, notwithstanding its harshness and insipidity.

From Notes and Queries, Number 26, April 27, 1850 by Various

Another etymon for Jews-harp is Jaws-harp, because the place where it is played upon is between the jaws.

From Notes and Queries, Number 18, March 2, 1850 by Various