Where does “tautology” come from?
Tautology comes from Latin tautologia, from Ancient Greek ταὐτολογία, combining ταὐτο- (the same) and λόγος (word, speech), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root leǵ- (to speak).
tautology (English): Redundant use of words, a pleonasm, an...
Definitions
- Redundant use of words, a pleonasm, an...
Ancestry of “tautology”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Late Latin | tautologia | — |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | ταὐτολογία | tautology |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | λόγος | That which is said: word, sentence, speech,... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | λέγω | I put in order, arrange, gather; I choose, count,... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ- | to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to... |