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# etymology

«etymology» in Mova's school dictionary: **the study of where words come from and how they have…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (etymology, etymologies)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Etymology is the study of where words come from and how they have changed over time. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/etymology/#m1)

2) The etymology of a word is its own history: which language it came from and what it meant before. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/etymology/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In English lessons, knowing the etymology of a word helps with spelling and meaning: «bicycle» has «bi» (two) and «cycle» (wheel) from Greek and Latin. Many English words come from Latin, Greek, French, Old Norse and Old English. Phrases: «the etymology of», «folk etymology» (a popular but wrong story about a word's origin).

### examples

- The etymology of «breakfast» is «breaking your fast» after the night. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/etymology/#x1)
- I love etymology because every word has a story. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/etymology/#x2)
- «Dinosaur» has a Greek etymology meaning «terrible lizard». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/etymology/#x3)
- The dictionary gives the etymology at the end of each entry. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/etymology/#x4)
- Etymology shows that «hello» and «hallo» are related. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/etymology/#x5)
- Some funny stories about word origins are false etymologies. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/etymology/#x6)

### note

Plural: etymologies. Do not confuse with «entomology», the study of insects (remember: insects have six legs, and «ent» like «ant»). Many famous word-origin stories (for example that «posh» means «port out, starboard home») are myths.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «etymology» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/etymology/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.