# etymology

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˌɛtɪˈmɒləd͡ʒi/ · frequency rank #31,164

## Definitions
1. The scientific study of the origin and evolution of a word's semantic meaning across time, including its constituent morphemes and phonemes.
2. The entire catalogue of meanings that a word, morpheme, or sign has carried throughout its history.
3. An account of the origin and historical development of a word as presented in a dictionary or the like.
4. The direct origin of a name, as in who someone was named after.

## Etymology
From Middle English ethymologie, from Old French ethimologie, from Latin etymologia, from Ancient Greek ἐτυμολογία (etumología), from ἔτυμον (étumon, “true sense”) and -λογία (-logía, “study or logic of”), from λόγος (lógos, “word; explanation”). Equivalent to etymon + -ology.

## Easily confused with
- **etiology** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/etiology-vs-etymology)
- **ethnology** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ethnology-vs-etymology)
- **entomology** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/entomology-vs-etymology)

## Common misspellings (14)
`etmyology`, `ettymology`, `etymloogy`, `etymmology`, `etymolgoy`, `etymollogy`, `etymologgy`, `etymologyy`, `etymoloyg`, `etymoolgy`, `etyomlogy`, `etyymology`, `eytmology`, `teymology`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/etymology