Origin: Late Middle English, 1350-1400: from Old French

Etymology

Origin: Late Middle English, 1350-1400: from Old French ethimologie; from Greek Etumologia

Usage: Noun

Definition: 1. the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history; 2. The history of a linguistic form shown by tracing its development since its earliest recorded occurrence in the language where it is found, by tracing its transmission from one language to another; 3. The derivation of a word; 4. The study of historical linguistic change, especially as manifested in individual words; 5. the study of the sources and development of words and morphemes

Related words: etymological, adjective; etymologically, adverb; etymologist, noun

Synonyms: word origin, word source, derivation, origin, word history, word lore,

Antonyms: none listed

Most likely to be used in: English class because that’s where we do a lot of vocabulary work and read a lot of words.

Sentences: 1. The students who have 7th grade English will study the etymology of words. 2. It is sometimes interesting to see the varied etymologies of words we use regularly.

Sources: www.oxforddictionaries.com Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition www.dictionary.com