Etymograph

English

taphonomy

Taphonomy comes from Ancient Greek τάφος ‘grave’, and goes back to θᾰ́πτω ‘to honour with funeral rites’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθᾰ́πτωthắptō‘to honour with funeral rites’
  2. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEτάφοςtáphos‘grave’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 2002taphonomy

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθᾰ́πτωthắptō‘to honour with funeral rites’
  2. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEτάφοςtáphos‘grave’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 2002taphonomy

Earliest quotation: 2002, Marcella H. Sorg, 1: Advancing Forensic Taphonomy: Purpose, Theory, and Proces: “These characteristics are also applicable in forensic taphonomy. In…”

Formed from tapho + nomy

Every English word from Ancient Greek θᾰ́πτω

Today it means

noun The study of the fate of the remains of organisms after they die, especially the study of fossilization.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek θᾰ́πτω / taphonomy

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