Etymology

(ét-e-mol'o-je.) [FromGr. etymon, the root of a word, and logos, doctrine.) (Gram.) That dept. of grammar which is devoted to the cla ification and formation of words, and the alteration of their uses by derivation and inflection. -(Philol.) That branch of the science which treats of the origin, primary signification, and ramified development of words, and their relation to grammatical form and construction. [s. 344]