What is the etymology of the words?
The etymology of a word refers to its origin and historical development: that is, its earliest known use, its transmission from one language to another, and its changes in form and meaning. Etymology is also the term for the branch of linguistics that studies word histories.
How do I find the etymology of a word?
Here are some to try:
- LibrarySpot Etymology Dictionaries.
- Etymologically Speaking.
- Google’s “etymology” search results.
- Any dictionary of the English language.
What is an example of etymological definition?
The definition of etymology is the source of a word, or the study of the source of specific words. An example of etymology is tracing a word back to its Latin roots. noun.
What is the short definition of the word etymology?
etymology • \eh-tuh-MAH-luh-jee\ • noun. 1 : the history of a word or phrase shown by tracing its development and relationships 2 : a branch of linguistics dealing with etymologies.
What is the best etymological dictionary?
the Oxford English Dictionary
The most famous etymological dictionary is the Oxford English Dictionary (known as the OED).
Is etymology a Latin word?
English etymology comes via Old French etimologie, ethimologie from Latin etymologia (which Cicero spells in Greek letters and glosses as veriloquium, Latin for “speaking the truth, conveying the truth”), a loan translation of the Greek etymología “analysis of a word to discover its true meaning.” Etymología is a …
How can I learn more about etymology?
Look for the roots.
- For instance, the word “etymology” itself has Greek roots: “etymos,” which means, “true sense,” and “logia,” which means, “study of.”
- Besides helping you to understand the origin of a word, knowing its roots can help you understand other words with similar roots.
What is the best etymology dictionary?
Which answer is a correct definition of etymology?
Etymology is the study of the origins and historical development of words. The etymology of a particular word is its history.
Which is the best place to look for a words etymology?
The best place to look for classes related to etymology are in the Classics, English, and Linguistics departments.
Is etymology a Greek word?
The word etymology derives from the Greek word ἐτυμολογία (etumología), itself from ἔτυμον (étumon), meaning “true sense or sense of a truth”, and the suffix -logia, denoting “the study of”. The term etymon refers to a word or morpheme (e.g., stem or root) from which a later word or morpheme derives.
What is etymological definition of the family?
The word family came into English in the fifteenth century. Its root lies in the Latin word famulus, “servant”. The first meaning in English was close to our modern word “household” — a group of individuals living under one roof that included blood relations and servants.
What is etymology in English grammar?
etymology. / (ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒɪ) / noun plural -gies. the study of the sources and development of words and morphemes. an account of the source and development of a word or morpheme.
What is the etymology of the word tribe?
The term, “tribe” originated around the time of the Greek city-states and the early formation of the Roman Empire. The Latin term, “tribus” has since been transformed to mean, “A group of persons forming a community and claiming descent from a common ancestor” (Oxford English Dictionary, IX, 1933, p.
What word can I use instead of a tribe?
That means choosing “ethnic group,” “nation,” “people,” “community,” “chiefdom,” “kin-group,” “village” or another appropriate word over “tribe,” when writing or talking about Africa.
Which is the best definition for the word etymology?
1 Walrus. This word is actually a metathesis —or re-ordering—of the Old Norse word hrossvalr (“horse whale”),as was discovered by none other than J.
What is the meaning of word etymology?
et•y•mol•o•gy. (ˌɛt əˈmɒl ə dʒi) n., pl. -gies. 1. the history of a particular word or element of a word. 2. an account of the origin and development of a word or word element. 3. the study of historical linguistic change, esp. as manifested in individual words.
Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language, College Edition, version of 1968, was the one I grew up with, and it traces almost every word back to Indo-European, or wherever. ( this) Not to be confused with Webster’s New Collegiate, Merriam Webster’s Collegiate, or half a dozen other dictionaries with similar names.
Do all words have an etymology?
The history of words is, in many ways, the history of the world. The English language is a patchwork. Despite being a Germanic language, its linguistic influences come from all over. Words we use every day might have originated in Greece, Japan, Polynesia or any number of other places.