Etymon

Quick meaning: Etymon is a noun meaning (linguistics) The original or earlier form of an inherited or borrowed word, affix, or morpheme either from an earlier period in a language's development, from an ancestral language, or from a foreign language.

Meaning

(linguistics) The original or earlier form of an inherited or borrowed word, affix, or morpheme either from an earlier period in a language's development, from an ancestral language, or from a foreign language.

Example Sentences

The resulting citation collection was databased and coded for meaning, etymon, and date range (earliest and latest occurrence found).

Here such cases as ghost words & misglosses, secondary semantics, different etymologies for one etymon or one etymology for different etyma, and finally semantic overpermissiveness are discussed.

Parricide, the more usual word, means (1) "the murder of one's own father"; or (2) "someone who murders his or her own father" […] It is also used in extended senses, such as "the murder of the ruler of a country" and "the murder of a close relative." These are not examples of slipshod extension, however, for even the Latin etymon (parricida) was used in these senses.

Word Forms

• etyma
• etymons

Synonyms for etymon

Depending on context, synonyms include ancestor.

Antonyms for etymon

Common opposites include derivative, reflex.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include ancestor, eponyme, urlanguage, ethnikon, ur-ancestor, protolanguage.

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