Etymology is the study of the origins of words. Some words have been derived from other languages, possibly in a changed form (the source words are called etymons). Through old texts and comparisons with other languages, etymologists try to reconstruct the history of words — when they entered a language, from what source, and how their form and meaning changed. Etymologists also try to reconstruct information about languages that are too old for any direct information (such as writing) to be known. By comparing words in relat ...

Including:

• Etymology - Basic ideas in etymology
• Etymology - English etymology
• Etymology - History of etymology
• Etymology - Bibliography

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etymology: The science of the origin of words and their development. The history of a word.

See: Nirukta Vedanga, Sanskrit.

(See also: Etymology, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

The search for meaningful origins for familiar or strange words is far older than the modern understanding of linguistic evolution and the relationships of languages, with its roots no deeper than the 18th century. From Antiquity through the 17th century, from Pindar to Sir Thomas Browne, etymology has been a form of witty wordplay, in which the supposed origins of words were mythologized to satisfy contemporary requirements, much as myths were formed to explain archaic rituals that were no longer comprehensible. In his Odes Pindar spins com ...

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Etymology, Etymology - Basic ideas in etymology, Etymology - English etymology, Etymology - History of etymology, Etymology - Bibliography

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Contrary to popular belief, crap is not derived from Thomas Crapper's name. It is, in fact, much older. It is one of a group of nouns applied to discarded cast offs, like "residue from renderings" (1490s) or in Shropshire, "dregs of beer or ale", meanings probably extended from Middle English crappe "chaff, or grain that has been trodden underfoot in a barn" (c. 1440), deriving ultimately from Late Latin crappa, "chaff." For a more detailed disparation of the myths, ...

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Crap, Crap - Etymology, Crap - Derivative words, Crap - Other meanings

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The English word Copt is from New Latin Coptus, which is derived from Arabic qubṭi قبطي (pl: qubṭ قبط and aqbāṭ أقباط), an Arabisation of the Coptic word kubti (Bohairic) and/or kuptaion (Sahidic). The Coptic itself is derived from the Greek word Αἰγύπτιος, aiguptios: "Egyptian", from Αἰγύπτος, ai ...

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Copt, Copt - Etymology, Copt - Modern usage, Copt - Related words

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India is a nation with three main names in official and popular use, and with historical and cultural importance. All three names were originally accorded to a single entity comprising all the moderns nations of the Indian subcontinent. Etymology of India - India. The first Article of the Constitution of India, which deals with the official name, states that "India, that is Bharat, shall be a union of states." Thus, not only in usage but officially India and Bharat are both accorded primary status. T ...

Including:

• Etymology of India - India
• Etymology of India - Bhārat
• Etymology of India - Mythological Origins
• Etymology of India - In History
• Etymology of India - Hindustan
• Etymology of India - Aryavarta

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The existence of a definite article is not believed by linguists to be shared by the common ancestor of the Indo-European languages (Proto-Indo-European). Most of the older languages do not employ them; there is no article in Latin, Sanskrit, or in conservative Indo-European languages like Russian, but it does exist in Greek. As in the etymologies of many other languages, the word originally entered the language as a demonstrative pronoun or adjective; compare the fate of the Latin demonstrative ille in the Romance languages, becoming French le, la and les, Spanish el and la, and Italian il ...

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The, The - Etymology, The - Use and pronunciation, The - Omission, The - Examples

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"Indos", Greek for India; "soukhos", Greek for crocodile. "raptorius": raptorial. ...

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Indosuchus, Indosuchus - Etymology, Indosuchus - Classification

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The two main etymologies of the word segment it as either Ab-noba or Abn-oba. The first is by far the strongest. Contemporary compilation of etymological lexica at the universities of Leiden and Wales ([1] [2] )are providing greater insight into the proto-linguistics of Celtic words. These lexica suggest that this name is derived from Proto-Celtic *Ab[o]-nōb-ā . Proto-Celtic *-nōb- is in turn derived from Proto-Indo-European *nebh-. One meaning is wetness . The first segment would be from *ab-, water< ...

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Abnoba, Abnoba - Etymology, Abnoba - Bibliography

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The word comes from Latin animalia mixta ("mixed animals"), beasts without a known owner. The reunion of beast to attribute them became a reunion of shepherds. When the council was established, it was also called mesta. The word mustang comes from mesteño or mestengo ("a mesta [i.e. ownerless] beast"). ...

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Mesta, Mesta - Etymology, Mesta - Reference

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The term sexualism is a neologism created to have a parallel construction with words like racism and sexism. Therefore, a "sexualist" would be someone who exhibits discriminatory attitudes or behaviors against people perceived to have sexual behaviors different than their own. The word 'sexualism' has been proposed as a replacement for "homophobia", which many people consider to be a misleading or misused word. ...

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Sexualism, Sexualism - Etymology, Sexualism - Issues

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A number of etymologies have been given for the name. Diogenes Laertius (3rd century-4th century ad) claimed that Zalmoxis meant "bear skin". In his Vita Pythagorae, Porphyrius (3rd century) says that zalmon is the Thracian word for "hide" (τὴν γὰρ δορὰν οἱ Θρᾷκες ζαλμὸν καλοῦσιν). Hesychius (ca. 5th century) has zemelen (ζέμελεν) a ...

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Zalmoxis, Zalmoxis - Etymology, Zalmoxis - The man, Zalmoxis - The god

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Scavenger is an alteration of scavager, from Middle English skawager meaning "customs collector," from skawage meaning "customs," from Old North French escauwage meaning "inspection," from escauwer meaning "to inspect," of Germanic origin; akin to Old English scEawian meaning "to look at." The word scavenger when being used to refer to human beings has negative connotations, conjuring up images of low-class or poor people who collect junk because they can't afford the proper materials they nee ...

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Scavenger, Scavenger - Etymology

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Zakho is Kurdish and comes from za, the past stem of the verb zan (to be born) and xo [kho], a dialectic version of the pronoun xwe [khwa] (self). Thus, Zakho means self-born. Another theory is that the name originated from the phrase that contains the two words "Za /Za/" which means "gave birth to" and "Xoyn /khoin/" which means "blood." Thus, it may mean "gave birth to blood," since many battles were fought a ...

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Zakho, Zakho - Etymology, Zakho - History

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The term gambeson is a loan from Old French gambeson, gambaison, originally wambais, formed after the Middle High German term wambeis "doublet", in turn from Old High German wamba "stomach" (cognate to womb.) The term aketon is a loan from Arabic al-qutn "cotton". ...

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Gambeson, Gambeson - Etymology, Gambeson - History

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The Etymology of the name of Severians is controversial. Though it is similar to the Russian word for "north" (sěver), the severians never were the northiest tribe of Slavs. More probable is that the name is of iranian (sarmathian tribe of "Seuer", from Iranian "seu" = black) or Turkic origin (a part of Huns). Alternatively, the name may be derived from a Proto-Slavic word for "family member". The modern names are Сiверяни in Ukrainian ...

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Severians, Severians - Etymology, Severians - Geography, Severians - History

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Fanciful stories of how the pastry was created are modern culinary legends. These include tales that it was invented in Vienna in 1683 to celebrate the defeat of the Turkish siege of the city, as a reference to the crescents on the Turkish flags, when bakers staying up all night heard the tunneling operation and gave the alarm; tales linking croissants with the kifli and the siege of Bucharest in 1686; and those detailing Marie Antoinette's hankering after a Viennese specialty. Alan Davidson, editor of the Oxford Companion to Food sta ...

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Croissant, Croissant - Etymology, Croissant - External link

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The word Kumaon can be traced back to the 5th century BC. The Kassite Assyrians left their homeland 'Kummah', on the banks of river Euphrates,and settled in the northern part of India.These inhabitants formed Koliyan tribe and having their new settlement as Kumaoon. Lord Buddha's mother, Mayabati belonged to this clan. An another version of the origin is that word Kumaon is believed to have been derived from "Kurmanchal", meaning land of the Kurmavatar (the tortoise incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the preserver according to Hindu mythology). The regi ...

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Kumaon, Kumaon - Etymology, Kumaon - In Media

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Variations of the name include: Onoghuria, Onoguri, Onoghuri, Onghur, Ongur, Onghuri, Onguri, Onghuria, Onguria, Onogundur, Unogundur, Unokundur, etc. There are varying speculations as to the origin of the Onogur name. In modern language of Caucasian Avars Onoghuria, Onoguri, Onoghuri, Onghur, could mean "Uno" Ever "Guro" Lasting or Lasting for Ever Some derive it from Turkic words meaning "Ten Arrows" meaning a federation of ten tribes. In Turkic languages the sound "z" turns out to the sound "r" when ...

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Onogur, Onogur - Etymology, Onogur - Other uses

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< Ancient Greek To ankiyo, angion(άγγείον) "skin, bagpipe" Image:Touloumbits.JPG ...

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Dankiyo, Dankiyo - Definition, Dankiyo - Etymology, Dankiyo - Parts of the instrument, Dankiyo - Reference

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