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etymology, the history of a word or word element, including its origins and derivation. Although the etymologizing of proper names appears in the Old Testament and Plato dealt with etymology in his dialogue Cratylus, lack of knowledge of other languages and of the historical developments that languages undergo prevented ancient writers from ...
Combining both accessibility and authority, The Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins describes the origins and development of over 3,000 words and phrases in the English language. The book draws on Oxford's unrivalled dictionary research programme and language monitoring, and relates the fascinating stories behind many of our most curious terms ...
Jul 3, 2019 · The etymology of a word refers to its origin and historical development: that is, its earliest known use, its transmission from one language to another, and its changes in form and meaning. Etymology is also the term for the branch of linguistics that studies word histories. What's the Difference Between a Definition and an Etymology?
The Online Etymology Dictionary or Etymonline, sometimes abbreviated as OED (not to be confused with the Oxford English Dictionary, which the site often cites), is a free online dictionary that describes the origins of English words, written and compiled by Douglas R. Harper. [1] Description.
Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins (3 ed.) Julia Cresswell. Previous Edition (2 ed.) Over 3,000 entries. Newly updated to incorporate recent additions to the English language, this popular dictionary provides a fascinating exploration of the origins and development of words in the English language.
Get Started. Etymology is that part of linguistics that studies word origins. English vocabulary words are formed from many different sources, especially Latin and Greek. By determining the origins of the morphemes in English words, one is better able to remember and determine the dictionary definitions of words.
Etymological Wordnet. Introduction. Some might be surprised to find out that the English word "muscular" and the German word for the animal "bat" share the same origins. The Etymological Wordnet project provides information about how words in different languages are etymologically related. The information is for the most part mined from Wiktionary.
