Etymology, << eht uh MOL uh jee, >> is the study of the origin and development of words. Words, like peoples and nations, have histories that can be traced and recorded. Etymologists attempt to identify each change in a word’s meaning and pronunciation for which there is historical evidence.
The modern study of etymology rests upon three basic principles that apply to all languages, past or present. First, the association between the sound and meaning of most words is random and not governed by any rules. In most cases, languages do not share the same word for an object or idea. For example, the word for dog is chien in French, Hund in German, kutya in Hungarian, and inu in Japanese. Second, because children learn how to talk by imitating their elders, words are passed from generation to generation by imitation. Third, since languages are a form of social behavior, they always undergo gradual modifications from generation to generation.
Etymons and cognates.
Although there is no connection between the sound and meaning of most words, certain words in different languages resemble one another in both respects. The word for father, in certain languages, is an example. It is padre in Italian, padre in Spanish, pere in French, and pai in Portuguese. These similarities occur because each word is a form of a single, earlier form—the Latin word pater. This earlier form is called an etymon.
The various words derived from an etymon are called cognates of one another. Sometimes the etymology of a word will reveal that it is cognate with words in another language. The various words for father already mentioned are examples. Another example is the English word new, which is cognate with the Latin word novus and the ancient Greek word neos. The etymon for these three words is newos, a form reconstructed from the prehistoric language called Proto-Indo-European. This language is the ancestor of English, Latin, Greek, and most other European languages.
Different types of etymologies
provide interesting perspectives on a word. The etymology for scholar is ultimately connected with the ancient Greek word schole, which means leisure. Thus, scholars are people who need leisure time to pursue their studies. Many words in English are derived from proper nouns. For example, the flower called the dahlia is named for a Swedish botanist of the 1700’s named Andrew Dahl.
Some words are modifications of one or more other words. Smog is a blend of smoke and fog. The word radar comes from letters in the phrase “radio detection and ranging.” Pep is a shortened form of pepper. Alone is a combination of all and lone. Scribble is based on the Latin word scribere, which means to write. This Latin word is associated with such English words as scripture, description, scribe, and a large number of other words that have script—or scribe—in their makeup.
See also Linguistics; Slang.
