語源 - 語源、起源と意味

Etymology - Etymology, Origin & Meaning Advertisement Remove Ads Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads. Origin and history of etymology etymology (n.) late 14c., ethimolegia "facts of the origin and development of a word," from Old French etimologie , ethimologie (14c., Modern French étymologie ), from Latin etymologia , from Greek etymologia "analysis of a word to find its true origin," properly "study of the true sense (of a word)," with -logia "study of, a speaking of" (see -logy ) + etymon "true sense, original meaning," neuter of etymos "true, real, actual," related to eteos "true," which perhaps is cognate with Sanskrit satyah , Gothic sunjis , Old English soð "true," from a PIE *set- "be stable." Latinized by Cicero as veriloquium . In classical times, with reference to original meanings; later, to histories. Classical etymologists, Christian and pagan, based their explanations on allegory and guesswork, lacking historical records as well as the scientific method to analyze them, and the discipline fell into disrepute that lasted a millennium. Flaubert ["Dictionary of Received Ideas"] wrote that the general view was that etymology was "the easiest thing in the world with the help of Latin and a little ingenuity." As a modern branch of linguistic science treating of the origin and evolution of words, from 1640s. As "an account of the particular history of a word" from mid-15c. As practised by Socrates in the Cratylus , etymology involves a claim about the underlying semantic content of the name, what it really means or indicates. This content is taken to have been put there by the ancient namegivers: giving an etymology is thus a matter of unwrapping or decoding a name to find the message the namegivers have placed inside. [Rachel Barney, "Socrates Agonistes: The Case of the Cratylus Etymologies," in "Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy," vol. xvi, 1998] By late-14c. a sense had developed of "conjugation and categorization of words," apparently from misunderstanding of etymology as dealing in tenses (old etymology, based on "original meanings," was a component of classical grammar), and in 16c. it is listed with prosody, orthography and syntax as elements of grammar: ...for the beginners of any language whatsoever, [etymologie] is so necessarie, that without it, they could not understand or learne it: The which by the Latin Grammarians hath beene, and is called Declension and Coniugation. [John Minsheu, "A Spanish Grammar," 1599.] OED considers this sense to be "now historical." Related: Etymological ; etymologically . also from late 14c. Entries linking to etymology etymological (adj.) 1590s; see etymology + -ical . Related: Etymologically . etymologicon (n.) "a work in which etymologies are traced," 1640s, from Latin etymologicon , from Greek etymologikon , neuter of etymologikos (see etymology ). Plural is etymologica . etymologist etymologize etymon folk-etymology -logy See All Related Words (7) Advertisement Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads. More to explore folk-etymology 1882; see folk (n.) + etymology. Perhaps translating German Volksetymologie (by 1852). The German word was used in English by 1876. By Folk-etymology is meant the influence exercised upon words, both as to their form and meaning, by the popular use and misuse of them. In a speci wormwood c. 1400, folk etymology of Old English wermod "wormwood, absinthe," related to vermouth, but the ultimate etymology is unknown...Perhaps because of the folk etymology, it formerly was used to protect clothes and bedding from moths and fleas.... ratline small ropes or lines which form the steps of ladders for going aloft, late 15c., ratling, also ratlin, a word of obscure etymology...The spelling ratline is attested from 1773, perhaps by folk etymology influence of rat (n.) + line (n.), "a seamen's jocular... pickelhaube German word is attested 17c., long before the helmet type came into use, and originally meant simply "helmet;" Palmer ("Folk-Etymology...") reports a German theory (Andresen) that it is a folk-etymology formation: "as if from Pickel and haube, a cap or coif[... querulous from Latin querulus "full of complaints, complaining," from queri "to complain," from Proto-Italic *kwese-, of uncertain etymology...PIE root *kues- "to hiss" (source also of Sanskrit svasiti "to hiss, snort"), which is not very compelling, but no better etymology... mizzen The sense of the English and Italian words agree, but the etymology is off because the "middle" mast on a ship is the mainmast...Klein suggests an alternate etymology of the French word, from Arabic via Italian.... Sparta The name is said to be from Greek sparte "cord made from spartos," a type of broom plant, a word modern etymology traces...If so, perhaps the reference is to the cords laid as foundation markers for the city, but the story could be folk etymology... chronicle c. 1300, cronicle, "historical account of facts or events in the order of time," from Anglo-French cronicle, from Old French cronique "chronicle" (Modern French chronique), from Latin chronica (neuter plural mistaken for fem. singular), from Greek ta khronika (biblia) "the (books account c. 1300, "counting," especially "reckoning of money received and paid, detailed statement of funds owed or spent or property held," from Old French acont "(financial) account, reckoning, terminal payment," from a "to" (see ad-) + cont "counting, reckoning of money to be paid," fr history late 14c., "relation of incidents" (true or false), from Old French estoire, estorie "story; chronicle, history" (12c., Modern French histoire), from Latin historia "narrative of past events, account, tale, story," from Greek historia "a learning or knowing by inquiry; an account Share etymology ‘ cite ’ Page URL : https://www.etymonline.com/word/etymology Copy HTML Link : <a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/etymology">Etymology of etymology by etymonline</a> Copy APA Style : Harper, D. (n.d.). Etymology of etymology. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved April 30, 2026, from https://www.etymonline.com/word/etymology Copy Chicago Style : Harper Douglas, "Etymology of etymology," Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed April 30, 2026, https://www.etymonline.com/word/etymology. Copy MLA Style : Harper, Douglas. "Etymology of etymology." Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/etymology. Accessed 30 April, 2026. Copy IEEE Style : D. Harper. "Etymology of etymology." Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/etymology (accessed April 30, 2026). Copy Remove Ads Advertisement Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads. Trending Dictionary entries near etymology etui etymological etymologicon etymologist etymologize etymology etymon eu- *eu- eubacteria Euboea Advertisement Close Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads. Want to remove ads? 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