Etymology - History of etymology

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

Read more here: » Etymology: Encyclopedia - Etymology

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 ...

See also:

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

Read more here: » Etymology: Encyclopedia II - Etymology - History of etymology

As a language, English is derived from the Anglo-Saxon, a dialect of West Germanic (as was Old Low German), although its current vocabulary includes words from many languages. The Anglo-Saxon roots can be seen in the similarity of numbers in English and German, particularly seven/sieben, eight/acht, nine/neun and ten/zehn. Pronouns are also cognate: I/ich; thou/Du; we/wir; she/sie. However, language change has eroded many grammatical elements, such as the noun case system, which is grea ...

See also:

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

Read more here: » Etymology: Encyclopedia II - Etymology - English etymology