etym-

A lexicographer who specializes in trying to reconstruct information about languages that are too old for any direct data can be known; since so many have no written records for examinations.

By comparing words in related languages, people may learn about their shared parent languages and in this way, some word roots have been found which can be traced all the way back to the origin of the Indo-European language family.

Someone who believes that the etymology of a word carries the same inherent original or literal meaning, even when the word has evolved beyond the classical sources of meanings: As an etymologite, Shirley was sure that her breath ("expiration" and "inspiration") referred to her "soul" or "spirit" instead of the current "breathing out" and "breathing in" applications.

A reference to anyone who believes that the etymology of a word is still its original or literal meaning even though it has changed or transformed into a different definition or definitions: The etymlogitic students in Jim's school didn't realize that there are many words from the classical languages which have changed their meanings from those that were originally indicated.

The studying, tracing, or describing of the origin and development of a word, or making a suggestion as to a term's possible origin and development: The high school teacher taught her students about the etymologizations of word origins and their applications which exist in our modern times.

1. To study, to trace, or to describe the origins and developments of words, or to make a suggestion as to a word's possible origin and development.
2. To construct the history of words: The lexicographer spent a great deal of time searching into the origins of words and etymologizing their meanings from their simple roots.
3. To give the derivation or to suggest an origin and historical development of language forms for a word or words: Although he is not trained in linguistics, Mathew's hobby is etymologizing various vocabulary terms.

A reference to a word that has been traced to its original meanings or derivations: The etymologized list of medical terms helped the medical students to identify the meanings of many applicable terms which are used by doctors and nurses.

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.

1. A foreign word from which a particular loan word is derived; for example, Latin duo, "two", is an etymon of English "duodecimal".
2. A word, or part of a word, from which another term is derived: Some etymons have been derived from other languages, possibly in changed forms.
3. Etymology: from late 16th century; via Latin from Greek etumon "true sense of a word" and etumos "true, original".

"Etymology" comes from the same source as etymon and gives a clue to the definition it provides; which is, "the literal meaning of a word according to its origin".

The term "etymology" is supposed to be the science or study of true and original word meanings; however, there are many erroneous beliefs about derivations, origins, and the consequent changes to words known as "folk etymology" or etymythology.

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

A reference to false origins of words or parts of words: A list of pseudoetymological words would supposedly provide different forms of terms that were developed after passing from one language to another one.

A descriptive term for unreliable earlier forms of words or parts of words that were supposed to be parts from which other words were derived: The pseudo-etymologically described words in the lexicon that Sharon examined were proven to be false and so they were not valid.

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.

Word origins and affixes: etymological quotes.