etymology

/ˌɛtəˈmɑlədʒi/
noun
  1. The study of the origin and historical development of words.
    • Knowing the etymology of a word can help you remember its meaning.
    • Etymology is a fascinating field that reveals how languages change over time.
    • In her linguistics class, she learned about the etymology of the word 'disaster'.
  2. The origin and historical development of a particular word.
    • The etymology of 'pizza' traces back to Italian and Greek words.
    • The word 'robot' has a surprising etymology from a Czech play.
    • He looked up the etymology of 'serendipity' in the dictionary.
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