Meaning & use
etymologists
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“etymologists” is a form of “etymologist”.
Meaning
nounpluralspecialist
People who study the origins of words and trace how their forms and meanings have changed over time.
Grammar: Plural of etymologist; use a plural verb: etymologists disagree.
Patterns
- etymologists of something
- etymologists at somewhere
Etymologists believe the word salary comes from the Latin word for salt.
Many etymologists work on dictionaries, tracing each word back to its earliest known use.
Etymologists still argue about where the word okay really came from.
Word forms
| singular | etymologist |
|---|
Common combinations
- leading etymologists
- Leading etymologists helped edit the new historical dictionary.
- etymologists agree
- Etymologists agree that the word has Germanic roots.
- etymologists trace
- Etymologists trace the term back to a medieval trade phrase.
- professional etymologists
- Professional etymologists often start from manuscripts and old letters.
- amateur etymologists
- Amateur etymologists sometimes invent colorful but false word histories.
Synonyms and how they differ
- philologists
- Philologists study old texts and languages more broadly, while etymologists focus specifically on word origins.
- linguists
- Linguists study language in general, so etymologists are only one kind of linguist.
- lexicographers
- Lexicographers write and edit dictionaries, though many rely on etymologists for the word histories.
Word family
- etymologist noun
- a person who studies word origins
- etymology noun
- the origin and history of a word, or the study of it
- etymological adjective
- relating to word origins
- etymologically adverb
- in terms of word origins
Commonly confused: etymologists or entomologists?
etymologists vs entomologists
Entomologists study insects. The two words look and sound alike, but etymologists study words.
Practice
Scholars who trace the history of the word 'quarantine' back to its Italian roots are working as ______.
Choose one answer.
Etymologists study where words come from. Entomologists study insects, which is the most tempting wrong option because of the similar spelling.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “etymologists”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.