Etymology comes from the Greek words "etymos" (true) and "logos" (word) and refers to the history of a word, including its origin, its development over time, and its relationship to other words.
In a dictionary entry, the etymology is often presented as a short explanation of the word's origin, usually with abbreviations like "ME" (Middle English), "OE" (Old English), or "L" (Latin), indicating the language from which the word comes.
For example, the etymology of the word "dictionary" might look something like this:
* Dictionary (n.)
* ME *diccionarie*, from L *dictionarium*, from *dictio* (speech)
This tells us that the word "dictionary" originated from the Middle English word "diccionarie," which came from the Latin word "dictionarium," which in turn came from the Latin word "dictio" meaning "speech."
The etymology of a word can help us understand its meaning, its nuances, and its historical context. It can also be fascinating to trace the evolution of words over time and see how they have changed their form and meaning.