What does etymology mean?
Etymology is the branch of linguistic study concerned with the origins of words and the ways their forms and meanings have developed over time. It examines where a word came from — which language it was borrowed or inherited from, what it originally meant, and how that meaning has shifted through centuries of use. The word also refers, in a narrower sense, to the specific history of an individual word, as when a dictionary lists the etymology of a term alongside its definition. Practitioners of this discipline are called etymologists. The field draws on comparative linguistics, historical texts, and knowledge of sound change to reconstruct a word's lineage, often revealing surprising connections across unrelated-seeming languages. Etymology carries a scholarly, intellectual connotation and is most often encountered in academic writing, dictionaries, and discussions of language history. It should not be confused with entomology, the study of insects.
nounThe study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history. It can also refer to the origin and historical development of a particular word itself.
- The academic study of the origins of words and how their forms and meanings have evolved over time.
- The origin and historical development of a particular word or morpheme.
"The etymology of 'salary' traces back to the Latin word for salt, once used as payment to Roman soldiers."
"She spent hours researching the etymology of obscure dialect words for her thesis."
"The etymology of 'nice' reveals it originally meant foolish or silly, from Latin nescius."
Used when referring to the origins of several distinct words rather than the discipline as a whole.
"The book compares the etymologies of loanwords from Arabic and Persian."
Despite its name, etymology has nothing to do with insects — confusing it with entomology is one of English's most common mix-ups.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of etymology
The word 'etymology' derives from Greek etumon (ἔτυμον), meaning 'true' or 'true sense', combined with -logia, meaning 'study'. It entered English via Latin etymologia and Old French in the late Middle English period, around the 14th century. The underlying idea was that studying a word's earliest form revealed its 'true' meaning. Related terms include etymology's adjectival form 'etymological', the agent noun 'etymologist', and cognates across Romance languages such as French étymologie and Spanish etimología.
Related word forms
How etymology is actually used
A formal, academic term common in linguistics, lexicography, and education. In sense two, it typically appears with the definite article ('the etymology of...'). The plural form refers to multiple words' individual histories rather than different kinds of study.
Easily confused with etymology
Entomology is the study of insects, whereas etymology is the study of word origins; they differ by only two letters but are entirely unrelated fields.