etymology


Learning the unique history of a word is something I enjoy, so I thought I’d occasionally share particularly curious etymologies.

The etymology of etymology itself is relatively straightforward. Etymon means “origin of a word” in Latin, and comes from the Greek word etymon, meaning “literal meaning of a word according to its origin.” Greek etymon in turn comes from etymos, which means “true.”  –Merriam-Webster

os·tra·cize

hip·​po·​pot·​a·​mus

im·pe·cu·ni·ous