Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “tautological” come from?

Tautological derives from English tautology and the suffix -ic, from French -ique and Ancient Greek λόγος (logos, meaning "word" or "speech"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -kos.

tautological (English): of, relating to, or using tautology; using...

Definitions

  1. of, relating to, or using tautology; using...

Ancestry of “tautological”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtautologyRedundant use of words, a pleonasm, an...
2Late Latintautologia—
3Ancient Greekταὐτολογίαtautology
4Ancient GreekλόγοςThat which is said: word, sentence, speech,...
5Ancient GreekλέγωI put in order, arrange, gather; I choose, count,...
6Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...

Words derived from “tautological”

  • tautologically
  • nontautological
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leǵ- →