ETYMON
ETYMON.
1. In the theory of LANGUAGE of the Stoic philosophers of ancient Greece, the true original form of which a current word is the degenerate descendant.
2. In PHILOLOGY, the earliest traceable form from which a later WORD is derived: for example, rex/regis (king) is the Latin etymon of English regal, while the Indo-European verbal ROOT *reg- (to move in a straight line, lead, rule) is the etymon of rex/regis, of Sanskrit rājā, and of the suffix -ric in bishopric. See ETYMOLOGY, INDO-EUROPEAN ROOTS, NOTATION, ROOT-WORD.
1. In the theory of LANGUAGE of the Stoic philosophers of ancient Greece, the true original form of which a current word is the degenerate descendant.
2. In PHILOLOGY, the earliest traceable form from which a later WORD is derived: for example, rex/regis (king) is the Latin etymon of English regal, while the Indo-European verbal ROOT *reg- (to move in a straight line, lead, rule) is the etymon of rex/regis, of Sanskrit rājā, and of the suffix -ric in bishopric. See ETYMOLOGY, INDO-EUROPEAN ROOTS, NOTATION, ROOT-WORD.
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ETYMON