The word ‘etymology’, in its most common usage, means the origin of a word. A quick web search offers a more complete definition:
- The origin and historical development of a linguistic form as shown by determining its basic elements, earliest known use, and changes in form and meaning, tracing its transmission from one language to another, identifying its cognates in other languages, and reconstructing its ancestral form where possible.
- The branch of linguistics that deals with etymologies.
For an example of the first definition, let’s take the word ‘ready’. Online Etymology Dictionary, notes the following etymology for the word ‘ready’:
O.E. ræde, geræde, from P.Gmc. *garaidijaz "arranged" (cf. O.Fris. rede, M.Du. gereit, O.H.G. reiti, M.H.G. bereite, Ger. bereit, O.N. greiðr "ready, plain," Goth.garaiþs "ordered, arranged"), from PIE base *reidh-. Lengthened in M.E. by change of ending.
If we were to translate the above abbreviations into more basic English, they would tell us that the origins of ‘ready’ are Germanic as opposed to Latin or Greek, and they include some fairly logical linguistic transformations both in meaning – e.g. ‘arranged’, ‘ordered’, ‘ready’, ‘plain’ – and in phonemic changes, for example, the fact that the letters ‘r’ and ‘d’ appear consistently throughout different forms.
But what about the word ‘etymology’ itself? What is its etymology?
Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language entry states the following:
L. etymologia, from Gk. etymologia, equivalent to etymology(os) studying the true meanings and values of words; etymo “true”, logos, “word”.
A logical derivation and explanation, and this time the roots are Greek. So does Modern Greek use a form of etymo? The answer is yes, but its meaning – not surprisingly – has evolved. It now means ‘ready’. Here are a few examples of the Modern Greek sentences followed by the English translation:
| Ο καφές είναι έτοιμος | The coffee is ready. |
| Είμαι έτοιμος να φύγω τώρα | I'm ready to go now. |
| Ετοιμαζόμαστε για το δείπνο |
We are getting ready for dinner. |
The etymology of ‘ready’ includes the concept of ‘ordered’, while the Greek usage of etymo is now ‘ready’. The parts have shifted like musical chairs.
- Categories:
- Linguistics, Etymology
Comments - 5
The Greek word “έτοιμος” (“ready”) has no etymological relation with “έτυμον” (“root of a word”). The information in this article is inaccurate.
I’m afraid I misunderstood the information I received from a native speaker. Thanks for reading - and for catching the error!
Laura Nelson
said on January 19, 2012 at 11:59 amAs a native speaker, I can easily see how the author may have confused “etoimo” or “ready” with “etumo” or “root of a word”. A comparable example in English may be the understanding of “see” versus “sea”. Phonetically they sound exactly the same. The spelling is slightly different and the meanings are strikingly different. A non-native speaker may assume they are related by origin or have similar meaning-
However, it is important to note that the author’s definition of etymology and the word “etumo” or “root of a word” were correct. I don’t think the author intended to say that “etoimo” meant “etumo”. It seems that “etoimo” or “ready” was used as an example for how a words meaning may change within a certain context.
Who knows? Maybe they were related at one time in history? Any Greek linguists out there??
Angie Garinis
said on January 19, 2012 at 7:08 pmDear Angie, they were never related in history. My source is Prof. Babiniotis’ Etymological Dictionary of the Modern Greek Language, a recent book with very high credibility.
Here’s a link to it: http://www.lexicon.gr/en/dic_etym.php
Mr. Soufleros is quite right: ἑτοῖμος and ἔτυμος are entirely unrelated. On the other hand, not *all* the information in the article is inaccurate! As they say in Italian, ‘sbagliando si impara’ (we learn by making mistakes).