English
etiology
Etiology comes from Latin aetiologia, from Ancient Greek αἰτῐολογῐ́ᾱ ‘giving the cause of something’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning…’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to speak by carefully selecting one's words’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*lóǵosreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*lógosreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλόγοςlógos‘that which is said: word, sentence, speech, story, debate, utterance, argument’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEαἰτῐολογῐ́ᾱaitĭologĭ́ā‘giving the cause of something’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaetiologia
- Englishearliest quotation 2008etiology
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to speak by carefully selecting one's words’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*lóǵosreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*lógosreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλόγοςlógos‘that which is said: word, sentence, speech, story, debate, utterance, argument’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEαἰτῐολογῐ́ᾱaitĭologĭ́ā‘giving the cause of something’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaetiologia
- Englishearliest quotation 2008etiology
Earliest quotation: 2008, Harriet A. Washington, Introduction: “Whether we were discussing the etiology of tuberculosis, gynecological…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning…’
election, collection, technology, lesson, select, elite, eligible, collect, elect, elegant, coil, legion, negligence, catalogue, negligible, negligent, leach, diligent, lexicon, lexical, cull, epilogue, astrology, dialectical, dialectic, alexia, lignite, lexis, lignin, cosmology, legation, gynecologist, ineligibility, dialogic, 150 more
through Proto-Hellenic *lógos
archaeological, pathological, astrological, homologous, etymology, pathophysiology, psychopathology, neurophysiology, histopathology, bacteriological, 102 more
through Ancient Greek λόγος ‘that which is said: word, sentence, speech,…’
logic, apology, trilogy, analogy, terminology, logos, sociology, pathology, physiology, monologue, archaeologist, pathologist, prologue, logistic, eulogy, epistemology, entomology, apologia, syllogism, bacteriology, bacteriologist, 111 more
Today it means
noun —
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- / etiology