Home << Logofolio Index
ETYMON
Plural: etymons or etyma
Ancient Greek: ἔτυμον (étumon)
Ancient Greek: ἔτυμον (étumon)
From historical linguistics (philology), an etymon is a word, root, or morpheme from which a later form of a word is derived. It is the true literal sense of a word according to its derivation. The etymon of the English word etymology is the Greek word etymos (meaning "true").
A foreign word from which a particular loan word is derived.
For example, Latin duo, "two," is an etymon of English duodecimal.
Origin
From the late 16th century (denoting the original form of a word): via Latin from Greek etumon meaning “true thing”. See etymology.
The Misleading Etymology of Etymology
"[W]e have to avoid being misled by the etymology of the word etymology itself; we have inherited this term from a pre-scientific period in the history of language study, from a time when it was supposed (with varying degrees of seriousness) that etymological studies would lead to the etymon, the true and 'genuine' meaning. There is no such thing as the etymon of a word, or there are as many kinds of etymon as there are kinds of etymological research."
James Barr, Language and Meaning. E.J. Brill, 1974
Derived Term: Etymology
The study of the origin and development of words. From the early 16th c. 2) the proposed explanation for the origin and
development of a word.
Plural: etymons or etyma.
Forms: etymologist; etymologize; etymic; etymonic; etymonically
Etymologicon: a dictionary or work on the etymologies of the words in a language. From 1644
Related Words:
External links to definitions
Antonyms: derivative, reflex
See also: cognate
References
Wiktionary Content available under
CC BY-SA 3.0
The study of the origin and development of words. From the early 16th c. 2) the proposed explanation for the origin and
development of a word.
- Radicarian: old term pertaining to the roots of words. From circa 1880.
A radicarian knowledge of Latin is of importance for English etymology.
Plural: etymons or etyma.
Forms: etymologist; etymologize; etymic; etymonic; etymonically
Etymologicon: a dictionary or work on the etymologies of the words in a language. From 1644
Related Words:
External links to definitions
Antonyms: derivative, reflex
See also: cognate
References
- Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (G&C. Merriam, 1913)
- The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
Wiktionary Content available under
CC BY-SA 3.0