etymon

[ et-uh-mon ]

noun

, plural et·y·mons, et·y·ma [et, -, uh, -m, uh].

1. the linguistic form from which another form is historically derived, as the Latin cor “heart,” which is the etymon of English cordial, or the Indo-European *ḱ ( e ) rd-, which is the etymon of Latin cor, Greek kardía, Russian serdtse, and English heart.

etymon

/ ˈɛtɪˌmɒn /

noun

1. a form of a word or morpheme, usually the earliest recorded form or a reconstructed form, from which another word or morpheme is derived: the etymon of English "ewe" is Indo-European " * owi"

Word History and Origins

Origin of etymon¹

1560–70; < Latin: the origin of a word < Greek étymon the essential meaning of a word seen in its origin or traced to its grammatical parts (neuter of étymos true, actual, real)

Word History and Origins

Origin of etymon¹

C16: via Latin, from Greek etumon basic meaning, from etumos true, actual

Example Sentences

Maybe it’s a problem with the term itself: the Latin etymon, avunculus, specifically denoted a mother’s brother.

From The Guardian

—Can any of your correspondents refer me to the etymon of this name, given to a vocation attached to our English courts of law?

From Project Gutenberg

The following etymons have been suggested: 1, pilum, Lat. the head of an arrow; the Spaniards and Italians call this ordinary cuspis.

From Project Gutenberg

I will even allow, willingly, that a more perfect Hebrew scholar than myself may esteem my etymons fanciful and incorrect.

From Project Gutenberg

It happens, perhaps yet more frequently, that a German name, which cannot be explained by anything within the range of Teutonic dialects, may find a sufficient etymon from the Celtic.

From Project Gutenberg