You searched for: “etymology
entomology, etymology
entomology (en" tuh MAHL uh jee) (noun)
The study of insects: When asked what her sister majored in at the university, Carmela replied that she studied bugs; when what she really meant to say was that her sister studied entomology.
etymology (et" uh MAHL uh jee) (noun)
The act of tracing the origins, derivations, and developments of words: Glenna became famous through her work in the etymology and use of rare words.

Etymology makes it possible to better understand the origins and meanings of words.

It is important to have an understanding of etymology in order to understand the naming of insects during one's study of entomology.

An etymologist is someone who knows the difference between etymology and entomology.

—Modified from Esar's Comic Dictionary by Evan Esar;
Doubleday & Company, Inc.; Garden City, New York; 1983; page 206.
etymology (s) (noun), etymologies (pl)
1. The origin and historical development of a linguistic form as shown by determining its basic elements, the earliest known uses, and changes in form and meanings: Etymology is the science or the study of original vocabulary meanings.
2. Tracing the transmissions of words from one language to another and identifying their relationships in other languages, and reconstructing their ancestral forms when possible: The English language has borrowed many roots from Greek and Latin; so, one important aspect of historical linguistics involves the etymology of words that come from those classical languages as well as some other contributing sources; such as, French, German, Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian, Indo-European, etc.

Through old texts and comparisons with other languages, etymology is an effort to reconstruct the history of words; when they entered a language, from what sources, and how their forms and meanings have changed.

This entry is located in the following units: etym- (page 2) -ology, -logy, -ologist, -logist (page 27)
Quotes: Etymology, Etymologies
Word origins and affixes: etymological quotes.
This entry is located in the following units: etym- (page 2) Quotes: Quotations Units (page 3)
More possibly related word entries
Units related to: “etymology
(If the origins of words are not known, then much of our language will not be as easily understood nor appreciated!)
(word origins and affixes; ancestral associations with their histories)
Word Entries containing the term: “etymology
folk etymology (s), (noun), folk etymologies (pl)
1. The incorrect origin for a word; an idea about the origin of a word that is generally believed but is incorrect.
2. A modification of a linguistic form according either to a falsely assumed etymology, or to a historically irrelevant analogy.
2. A popular but false notion of the origin of a word.

A few humorous examples of folk etymology

The word woman is derived from woe- + man; and so, "a bringer of woe".
The origin of virgin, comes from vir, Latin for "man", and gin, "a trap" and so a virgin is "a mantrap" or a "trapper of men".

—Compiled from Humorous English by Evan Esar;
Horizon Press, New York; 1961; page 27.
This entry is located in the following units: etym- (page 2) -ology, -logy, -ologist, -logist (page 28)
pseudoetymology, pseudo-etymology (s); (noun); pseudoetymologies, pseudo-etymologies (pl)
A false or incorrect description of the origin and development of a word or words: A student in Mr. Mark's class discovered a source of pseudoetymology that contained a number of false suggestions as to the possible origins and developments of vocabulary terms.
This entry is located in the following unit: etym- (page 2)