Etymology is the study of the history and origins of words. These days many dictionaries will give you a brief description of each word’s origins. Here are some examples:
-Poultry: from the French ‘poulet’; originally from the Latin ‘pullus’ (chick)
-Fire: from Middle English ‘fier’ and Old English ‘fyr’; links with West Germanic ‘fuïr’, Dutch ‘vuur’ and Danish ‘fyr’
Etymology can be very useful, as it can show us the links between different languages, and tell us a lot about how languages have evolved. Take the following examples:
-’Introduction’ in English becomes ‘introduction’ in French, ‘introduzione’ in Italian, ‘introduktion’ in Danish, ‘introducción’ in Spanish, and ‘introducere’ in Romanian
-The English verb ‘organise’ becomes ‘organiza’ in Romanian, ‘organiseren’ in Dutch, ‘organisieren’ in German, ‘organiser’ in French, ‘organizzare’ in Italian, ‘organizirati’ in Croatian, and ‘organizovat’ in Czech.
-Poultry: from the French ‘poulet’; originally from the Latin ‘pullus’ (chick)
-Fire: from Middle English ‘fier’ and Old English ‘fyr’; links with West Germanic ‘fuïr’, Dutch ‘vuur’ and Danish ‘fyr’
Etymology can be very useful, as it can show us the links between different languages, and tell us a lot about how languages have evolved. Take the following examples:
-’Introduction’ in English becomes ‘introduction’ in French, ‘introduzione’ in Italian, ‘introduktion’ in Danish, ‘introducción’ in Spanish, and ‘introducere’ in Romanian
-The English verb ‘organise’ becomes ‘organiza’ in Romanian, ‘organiseren’ in Dutch, ‘organisieren’ in German, ‘organiser’ in French, ‘organizzare’ in Italian, ‘organizirati’ in Croatian, and ‘organizovat’ in Czech.