• Etymology

    Pronunciation

    • RP enPR: Ä•t"É™-mŏl'É™-jÄ“, IPA: /ˌɛt.ɪˈmÉ’l.É™.dÊ’i/
    • GenAm enPR: Ä•t"É™-mŏl'É™-jÄ“, IPA: /ˌɛtəˈmÉ‘lÉ™dÊ’i/
    • Hyphenation: e + ty + mo + lo + gy

    Origin

    From Middle English etimologie, from Old French ethimologie, from Latin etymologia, from Ancient Greek ἐτυμολογία, from ἔτυμον (etumon, "true sense") and -λογία (-logia, "study of") (from λόγος).

    Noun

    etymology

    (plural etymologies)
    1. (uncountable) The study of the historical development of languages, particularly as manifested in individual words.
    2. (countable) An account of the origin and historical development of a word.

    Usage notes

    Not to be confused with entomology ("the study of insects") or etiology ("the study of causes or origins").

    Hyponyms

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