Etymology

Etymology is the study of the origins of words. Some words have been derived from other languages, possibly in a changed form (the source words are called etymons). Through old texts and comparisons with other languages, etymologists try to reconstruct the history of words — when they entered a language, from what source, and how their form and meaning changed.

Related Topics:
Word - Language - Etymologist - History

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Etymologists also try to reconstruct information about languages that are too old for any direct information (such as writing) to be known. By comparing words in related languages, one can learn about their shared parent language. In this way, word roots have been found which can be traced all the way back to the origin of the Indo-European language family.

Related Topics:
Word roots - Indo-European - Language family

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The word etymology itself comes from the Greek ἔτυμον (étymon, the true meaning of a word) and λόγος (lógos, science).

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