etymology
Loading your saved state.
etymology
The science of the origin, history, and development of meaning of words.
Im Seminar über Etymologie haben wir die Ursprünge vieler deutscher Wörter untersucht.
In the seminar on etymology, we examined the origins of many German words.
The word 'Etymologie' (etymology) belongs to the technical language of linguistics. In everyday speech, people are more likely to use paraphrases like 'die Herkunft eines Wortes' (the origin of a word) or 'wo ein Wort herkommt' (where a word comes from).
In der Sprachwissenschaft ist die Etymologie ein wichtiges Teilgebiet.
In linguistics, etymology is an important subfield.
'Etymologie' (etymology) is an international technical term that comes from Ancient Greek. It literally means 'the study of the true meaning' of a word.
Viele wissenschaftliche Begriffe wie 'Etymologie' haben ihre Wurzeln im Griechischen oder Lateinischen.
Many scientific terms like 'etymology' have their roots in Greek or Latin.
When the origin of a particular word is meant, it is usually followed by a genitive ('die Etymologie des Wortes ...' — the etymology of the word ...) or a preposition like 'von' (of/from). If the word stands alone, it often refers to the science as a whole.
Die Etymologie des Namens 'Alexander' ist griechisch.
The etymology of the name 'Alexander' is Greek.
When it is about the origin of an individual word, 'Etymologie' (etymology) is often combined with verbs like 'erklären' (to explain), 'nachschlagen' (to look up), or 'erforschen' (to research).
Ich habe die Etymologie dieses Begriffs im Wörterbuch nachgeschlagen.
I looked up the etymology of this term in the dictionary.
origin
'die Herkunft' and 'die Etymologie' can both explain where a word comes from. However, 'Herkunft' is much more general: you can talk about the origin of a person, a product, or a word. 'Etymologie' is used only for words and their history. That is why the words can be confused when the topic is language. As a practical rule: for people, goods, or ideas, 'Herkunft' fits. For the history of a word, 'Etymologie' is more precise.
Die Etymologie dieses Wortes zeigt, dass es aus dem Lateinischen kommt.
The etymology of this word shows that it comes from Latin.
Im Deutschkurs sprechen wir über die Herkunft des Wortes „Fenster“.
In German class, we talk about the origin of the word “Fenster.”