Supposed evolution of the word "ma"
() is the study of the
history of
words and how their form and meaning have changed over time.
For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages, and texts about the languages, to gather knowledge about how words were used at earlier stages, and when they entered the languages in question. Etymologists also apply the methods of
comparative linguistics to reconstruct information about languages that are too old for any direct information to be available. By analyzing related languages with a technique known as the
comparative method, linguists can make inferences about their shared parent language and its vocabulary. In this way,
word roots have been found which can be traced all the way back to the origin of, for instance, the
Indo-European language family.
Even though etymological research originally grew from the
philological tradition, nowadays much etymological research is done on
language families where little or no early documentation is available, such as
Uralic and
Austronesian.
Etymology of the word
The word "etymology" derives from the
Greek ἐτυμολογία (etumologia) <
ἔτυμον (etumon), “‘true sense’” +
-λογία (-logia), “‘study of’”, from
(
logos), "speech, oration, discourse, word". The Greek poet
Pindar (b. approx. 522 BC) employed creative etymologies to flatter his patrons.
Plutarch employed etymologies insecurely based on fancied resemblances in sounds.
Isidore of Seville's
Etymologiae was an encyclopedic tracing of "first things" that remained uncritically in use in Europe until the sixteenth century.
Etymologicum genuinum is a grammatical encyclopedia edited at
Constantinople in the ninth century, one of several similar Byzantine works. The fourteenth-century
Legenda Aurea begins each
vita of a saint with a fanciful
excursus in the form of an etymology.
Methods
Etymologists apply a number of methods to study the origins of words, some of which are:
- Philological research. Changes in the form and meaning of the word can be traced with the aid of older texts, if such are available.
- Making use of dialectological data. The form or meaning of the word might show variation between dialects, which may yield clues of its earlier history.
- The comparative method. By a systematic comparison of related languages, etymologists can detect which words derive from their common ancestor language and which were instead later borrowed from another language.
- The study of semantic change. Etymologists often have to make hypotheses about changes of meaning of particular words. Such hypotheses are tested against the general knowledge of semantic shifts. For example, the assumption of a particular change of meaning can be substantiated by showing that the same type of change has occurred in many other languages as well.
Types of word origins
Etymological theory recognizes that words originate through a limited number of basic mechanisms, the most important of which are borrowing (i.e. the adoption of
loanwords from other languages);
word formation such as
derivation and
compounding; and
onomatopoeia and
sound symbolism, (i.e. the creation of imitative words such as "click").
While the origin of newly emerged words is often more or less transparent, it tends to become obscured through time due to sound change or semantic change. Due to
sound change, it is not obvious at first sight that English
set is related to
sit (the former is originally a
causative formation of the latter), and even less so that
bless is related to
blood (the former was originally a derivative with the meaning "to mark with blood", or the like).
Semantic change can also occur. For example, the English word
bead originally meant "prayer", and acquired its modern sense through the practice of counting prayers with beads.
Most often combinations of etymological mechanisms apply. For example, the German word
bitte (please), the German word
beten (to pray), and the Dutch word
bidden (to pray) are related through sound and meaning to the English word
bead. The combination of sound change and semantic change often creates etymological connections that are impossible to detect by merely looking at the modern word-forms.
English language
English is derived from
Anglo-Saxon, a
West Germanic variety, 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/mine/me ich/mein/mich;
thou/thine/thee du/dein/dich;
we/wir us/uns;
she/sie. However,
language change has eroded many grammatical elements, such as the
noun case system, which is greatly simplified in modern English; and certain elements of vocabulary, much of which is borrowed from
French. Though more than half of the words in English either come from the
French language or have a French
cognate, most of the common words used are still of
Germanic origin. For an example of the etymology of an English irregular
verb of Germanic origin, see the etymology of the word
go. Days of the week are derived from old Norse: Monday [Moondæg] Tuesday [Twiesdæg] Wednesday [Wodensdæg] Thursday [Thorsdæg] Friday [Friedæg] Saturday [Saternesdæg] Sunday [Sunnandæg]
When the
Normans conquered England in 1066 (see
Norman Conquest), they brought their
Norman language with them. During the
Anglo-Norman period which united insular and continental territories, the ruling class spoke
Anglo-Norman, while the peasants spoke the vernacular English of the time, as well as the native
Celtic languages. Anglo-Norman was the conduit for the introduction of French into England, aided by the circulation of
Langue d'oïl literature from France. This led to many paired words of French and English origin. For example,
beef is cognate with the modern French
bœuf,
veal with
,
pork with
, and
poultry with
. All these cognate words, French and English, refer to the meat rather than to the animal. This relationship carries over into the names for farm animals where the cognate is with modern German. For example
swine/Schwein;
cow/Kuh;
calf/Kalb;
sheep/Schaf. The variant usage has been explained by the proposition that it was the Norman rulers who mostly ate meat (an expensive commodity) and the Anglo-Saxons who farmed the animals. This explanation has passed into common
lore, but has been disputed.
English words of more than two syllables are likely to come from French, often with modified terminations. For example, the French words for
syllable,
modified,
terminations and
example are
,
,
and
. In many cases, the English form of the word is more conservative (that is, has changed less) than the French form. Polysyllabic words in English also carry connotations of better education or politeness.
English has proven accommodating to words from many languages. Scientific terminology relies heavily on words of
Latin and
Greek origin.
Spanish has contributed many words, particularly in the south-western United States. Examples include
buckaroo from
vaquero or "cowboy",
alligator from
el lagarto or "the lizard",
rodeo and
savvy; states names such as
Colorado and
Florida.
Cuddle,
eerie and
greed come from
Scots;
albino,
palaver,
verandah and
coconut from
Portuguese;
diva,
prima donna,
pasta and
umbrella from
Italian;
adobe,
alcohol,
algebra,
algorithm,
apricot,
assassin,
caliber,
cotton,
hazard,
jacket,
jar,
julep,
mosque,
Muslim,
orange,
safari,
sofa and
zero from
Arabic;
honcho,
sushi, and
tsunami from
Japanese;
dim sum,
gung ho,
kowtow,
kumquat,
ketchup, and
typhoon from
Cantonese Chinese;
behemoth,
hallelujah,
Satan,
jubilee, and
rabbi from
Hebrew;
taiga,
sable and
sputnik from
Russian;
galore,
whiskey,
phoney,
trousers and
Tory from
Irish;
brahman,
guru,
karma,
pandit from
Sanskrit;
kampong and
amok from
Malay;
Smorgasbord and
ombudsman from
Swedish; and
boondocks from the
Tagalog word
bundok. See also
loanword.
History
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 to
Pindar to Sir
Thomas Browne, etymology had been a form of witty wordplay, in which the supposed origins of words were changed to satisfy contemporary requirements.
Ancient Sanskrit
The
Sanskrit linguists and grammarians of
ancient India were the first to make a comprehensive analysis of linguistics and etymology. The study of Sanskrit etymology has provided Western scholars the basis of
historical linguistics and modern etymology. Four of the most famous Sanskrit linguists are:
- Yaska (c. 6th-5th centuries BCE)
Though they are not the earliest Sanskrit grammarians, they follow a line of more ancient grammar people of Sanskrit dating back up to several centuries earlier. The earliest of attested etymologies can be found in
Vedic literature, in the philosophical explanations of the
Brahmanas,
Aranyakas and
Upanishads.
The analyses of
Sanskrit grammar of the previously mentioned linguists involve extensive studies on the etymology (called
Nirukta or
Vyutpatti in Sanskrit) of Sanskrit words, because the ancient
Indo-Aryans considered sound and speech itself to be sacred, and for them, the words of the sacred
Vedas contained deep encoding of the mysteries of the soul and God.
Ancient Greco-Roman
One of the earliest philosophical texts of the Classical Greek period to deal with etymology was the
Socratic dialogue Cratylus (c. 360 BC) by
Plato. During much of the dialogue,
Socrates makes guesses as to the origins of many words, including the names of the gods. In his
Odes Pindar spins complimentary etymologies to flatter his patrons.
Plutarch (
Life of Numa Pompilius) spins an etymology for
pontifex ("bridge-builder"):
the priests, called Pontifices.... have the name of Pontifices from potens, powerful, because they attend the service of the gods, who have power and command over all. Others make the word refer to exceptions of impossible cases; the priests were to perform all the duties possible to them; if any thing lay beyond their power, the exception was not to be cavilled at. The most common opinion is the most absurd, which derives this word from pons, and assigns the priests the title of bridge-makers. The sacrifices performed on the bridge were amongst the most sacred and ancient, and the keeping and repairing of the bridge attached, like any other public sacred office, to the priesthood.
Plutarch's etymology of "syncretism", involving
Cretans banding together, rather than a parallel to
concrete or
accrete, is uncritically accepted even today (see
Syncretism). Degrading and insulting pseudo-etymologies were a standard weapon of
Jerome's arsenal of sarcasm.
A modern false etymology claims that ANTHROPOS, "human being," comes from ANA and OPSOMAI--"one who looks up." This not only is an irrelevant human characteristic, but it also fails to account for some of the letters. Better would be ANTI, "back and forth," RHETHEIS, "making a sound," and EPOS, "word": "a creature that speaks back." An important Roman work containing - albeit mostly erroneous - etymologies was the multi-volume
De Lingua Latina written by
Varro.
Medieval
Isidore of Seville compiled a volume of etymologies to illuminate the triumph of religion. Each saint's legend in
Jacob de Voragine's
Legenda Aurea begins with an etymological riff on the saint's name:
Lucy is said of light, and light is beauty in beholding, after that S. Ambrose saith: The nature of light is such, she is gracious in beholding, she spreadeth over all without lying down, she passeth in going right without crooking by right long line; and it is without dilation of tarrying, and therefore it is showed the blessed Lucy hath beauty of virginity without any corruption; essence of charity without disordinate love; rightful going and devotion to God, without squaring out of the way; right long line by continual work without negligence of slothful tarrying. In Lucy is said, the way of light. .
Modern era
Etymology in the modern sense emerges in the late 18th century European academia, within the context of the wider "
Age of Enlightenment", although preceded by 17th century pioneers such as
Marcus Zuerius van Boxhorn,
Vossius,
Stephen Skinner,
Elisha Coles or
William Wotton. The first known systematic attempt to prove the relationship between two languages on the basis of similarity of
grammar and
lexicon was made by the Hungarian
János Sajnovics in 1770, when he attempted to demonstrate the relationship between
Sami and
Hungarian (work that was later extended to the whole
Finno-Ugric language family in 1799 by his fellow countryman
Samuel Gyarmathi).
[Szemerényi 1996:6] The origin of modern
historical linguistics is often traced back to
Sir William Jones, an English
philologist living in
India, who in 1782 observed the genetic relationship between
Sanskrit,
Greek and
Latin. Jones published his
The Sanscrit Language in 1786, laying the foundation for the field of
Indo-European linguistics.
The study of etymology in
Germanic philology was introduced by
Rasmus Christian Rask in the early 19th century, and taken to high standards with the
German Dictionary of the
Brothers Grimm. The successes of the comparative approach culminated in the
Neogrammarian school of the late 19th century. Still in the 19th century, the philosopher
Friedrich Nietzsche used etymological strategies (principally, and most famously, in
On the Genealogy of Morals, but also elsewhere) to argue that moral values have definite historical (specifically cultural) origins where modulations in meaning regarding certain concepts (such as "good" and "evil") showed how these ideas had changed over time, according to which value-system appropriated them. The strategy has gained popularity in the 20th century, with philosophers such as
Jacques Derrida using etymologies to indicate former meanings of words with view to decentering the "violent hierarchies" of Western
metaphysics.
Bibliography
- Skeat, Walter W. (2000), The Concise Dictionary of English Etymology, repr ed., Diane. (ISBN 0-7881-9161-6)
- Skeat, Walter W. (1963) An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, (ISBN 0-19-863104-9)
- Snoj, Marko (2005). Etymology. In: Strazny, Philipp (ed.). Encyclopedia of Linguistics. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn, vol. 1: A—L, pages 304—306.
- Liberman, Anatoly (2005) "Word Origins...and How We Know Them: Etymology for Everyone", (ISBN 0-19-516147-5)
See also
