etymology
Other forms: etymologies
Since you're reading this, then you probably have some interest in etymology, because it's the study of the history and derivations of words.
What genealogy is to a family, etymology is to words. A genealogist studies the history of a family. A person who studies etymology does the same thing with words. Etymology looks at the roots of words — for example, whether they started out as Latin, Greek, or as some other language — and how they took on their current meaning. When you learn that the -logy part of etymology almost always means "the study of," that is, in itself, etymology.
Definitions of etymology
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a history of a word
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types:
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folk etymology
a popular but erroneous etymology
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folk etymology
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the study of the sources and development of words
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types:
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lexicostatistics
a statistical technique used in glottochronology; used to estimate how long ago different languages evolved from a common source language
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type of:
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linguistics
the scientific study of language
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lexicostatistics
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘etymology'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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Commonly confused words
entomology / etymology
Don’t bug out! Entomology is the study of insects, but etymology is the study of words. They sound similar and both end in -logy, which means “the study of,” but don’t mix them up unless you like completely confusing people.
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