étymon

\e.ti.mɔ̃\

/\e.ti.mɔ̃\/ noun

The verdict

“étymon” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Mot le plus ancien à l’origine du mot nouveau.

Corpus desk

Index FR-etymon · étymon · French

étymon · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "É" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for étymon
PropertyValue
Headwordétymon
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\e.ti.mɔ̃\
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « étymon » en français

étymonreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

étymon is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \e.ti.mɔ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Mot le plus ancien à l’origine du mot nouveau.".

No misspelling variants are generated for étymon in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is étymon, spelled É-T-Y-M-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mot le plus ancien à l’origine du mot nouveau.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how étymon appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Le latin operari est l’étymon de ouvrer, devenu œuvrer, et de opérer.
  2. S’il existe un consensus pour rattacher « ironie » à l’étymon eirôneia, les avis divergent quant à la signification du mot grec.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "étymon"?
"étymon" is spelled É-T-Y-M-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \e.ti.mɔ̃\.
What does "étymon" mean?
As a noun, "étymon" means: Mot le plus ancien à l’origine du mot nouveau.
How do you pronounce "étymon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "étymon" is \e.ti.mɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "étymon" come from?
"étymon" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list