eymology -
n. (pl. -ies)
1 a the historically verifiable sources of the formation of a word
and the development of its meaning. b an account of these.
2 the branch of linguistic science concerned
with etymologies.
etymological adj. etymologically adv. etymologist n. [OF ethimologie f. L etymologia f. Gk etumologia (as ETYMON, -LOGY)]