Where does “etymology” come from?
Etymology derives from Middle English ethymologie, from Old French ethimologie, from Latin etymologia, from Ancient Greek ἐτυμολογία, combining λόγος (logos, "word" or "account") and λέγω (legō, "to speak"), both rooted in Proto-Indo-European leǵ-.
etymology (English): The study of the historical development of...
Definitions
- The study of the historical development of...
Ancestry of “etymology”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | ethymologie | The purported true, primordial and innate sense... |
| 2 | Old French | ethimologie | etymology |
| 3 | Latin | etymologia | etymology |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | ἐτυμολογία | etymology |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -λογία | Base for nouns denoting the study of something,... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | λόγος | That which is said: word, sentence, speech,... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | λέγω | I put in order, arrange, gather; I choose, count,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ- | to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to... |
Words derived from “etymology”