Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “surface etymology” come from?

surface etymology (English) comes from English etymology, from Middle English ethymologie, from Old French ethimologie, from Latin etymologia, from Ancient Greek ἐτυμολογία, from Ancient Greek -λογία, from Ancient Greek λόγος, from Ancient Greek λέγω — to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...

surface etymology (English): The apparent etymology of a term based on...

Definitions

  1. The apparent etymology of a term based on...

Ancestry of “surface etymology”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishetymologyThe study of the historical development of...
2Middle EnglishethymologieThe purported true, primordial and innate sense...
3Old Frenchethimologieetymology
4Latinetymologiaetymology
5Ancient Greekἐτυμολογίαetymology
6Ancient Greek-λογίαBase for nouns denoting the study of something,...
7Ancient GreekλόγοςThat which is said: word, sentence, speech,...
8Ancient GreekλέγωI put in order, arrange, gather; I choose, count,...
9Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leǵ- →