English
etymology
Etymology comes from Middle English ethymologie ‘the purported true, primordial and innate…’, from Ancient Greek ἐτῠμόλογος ‘studying etymology’, 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 BCEἐτῠμόλογοςetŭmólogos‘studying etymology’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἐτῠμολογῐ́ᾱetŭmologĭ́ā
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEetymologia
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400ethimologie
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ethymologie‘the purported true, primordial and innate sense of a term’
- Englishearliest quotation 1996etymology
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 BCEἐτῠμόλογοςetŭmólogos‘studying etymology’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἐτῠμολογῐ́ᾱetŭmologĭ́ā
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEetymologia
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400ethimologie
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ethymologie‘the purported true, primordial and innate sense of a term’
- Englishearliest quotation 1996etymology
Earliest quotation: 1996, The Rock:: “I'm sure you know the etymology of your name,…”
Equivalent to etymo- + -logy
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning…’
election, collection, technology, lesson, select, elite, eligible, collect, elect, elegant, legion, coil, negligence, catalogue, negligible, negligent, leach, diligent, lexicon, lexical, cull, epilogue, astrology, dialectic, legation, alexia, lignite, lexis, lignin, gynecologist, cosmology, ineligibility, dialogic, 151 more
through Proto-Indo-European *lóǵos
archaeological, pathological, astrological, pathophysiology, psychopathology, neurophysiology, bacteriological, histopathology, 90 more
through Proto-Hellenic *lógos
logic, apology, trilogy, analogy, sociology, terminology, logos, physiology, pathology, logistic, archaeologist, pathologist, prologue, monologue, eulogy, epistemology, homologous, entomology, apologia, bacteriology, syllogism, etiology, bacteriologist, 110 more
Today it means
noun The scientific study of the origin and evolution of a word's semantic meaning across time, including its constituent morphemes and phonemes.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- / etymology