What is the etymology or etymology?

"Etymology" is the study of the origin and historical development of words. The word itself comes from Greek:

* ἔτυμον (étymon), meaning "true meaning" or "true sense"

* -λογία (-logia), meaning "study of" or "discourse on"

Therefore, etymology literally means "the study of the true meaning" or "the study of the true sense of words."

The word "etymology" itself is a relatively late borrowing into English, appearing around the 16th century. Before that, English speakers would have used terms like "word-lore" or "word-origin" to describe the study of word history.