Peggy Wilson, age 15, of Decatur, 111.. for her question:
WHAT IS ETYMOLOGY?
Etymology is the branch of linguistics that deals with the origin and development of words. It also deals with the comparison of similar words, or cognates, in different languages of the same language group.
In its relation to other subdivisions of linguistics, etymology stands closest to phonology in fact, before the development of phonetic laws, no scientific or systematic means of tracing the derivation of words existed.
Etymology comes from the Greek words 'etymos,' meaning 'true' and’ logos,' meaning 'word.' As its own origin shows, etymology was first used as a philosophical term. The Greek Stoics believed that words and their meanings exist in nature, as the real counterparts of things and abstract ideas, rather than as conventions invented and agreed upon by human beings.
Early attempts at etymology were naive and incorrect according to phonetic evolution. This primitive kind of etymology is still common and is known as popular, or folk, etymology.
Among those unfamiliar with the history of words, the attempt is frequently made to etymologize them in terms of other words to which they may have some phonetic resemblance.
With the introduction of Sanskrit into Europe, etymology along more scientific lines was made possible. At about the beginning of the 19th century, European scholars studying Sanskrit noted its resemblance in vocabulary to Latin and Greek. The comparison of vocabularies was extended to other languages and the idea of a common origin, an Indo European parent language, was soon established.
Etymology finds its principal application in the tracing back of words through an entire group of allied languages to a hypothetical original form.
Accidental resemblances in sound are often mistaken for phonetic mutations or proof of etymological kinship.
Eight methods in tracing the etymology of a word have been formulated:
(1) The earliest form and usage of the word must be determined and its chronology respected.
(2) History and geography should be followed; many words come into language through contact.
(3) Phonetic laws must be respected.
(4) When two words in the same language are being studied for their related characteristics, the word that has the fewer syllables must be taken at face value to be the earlier.
(5) The earlier form of two words can usually be determined by the chief vowel sound.
(6) Germanic strong verbs, like Latin irregular vegbs, may be assumed to be primary and all related forms to be derivative.
(7) Resemblances in form, and even meaning, in unrelated languages should be ignored.
(8) The explanation of an English word must also apply to its cognates.
The complete etymology of a word should account for its phonetic evolution, for its source and, if it is of foreign origin or if it is a conglomerate, for the origin of its parts.