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v. t. e. Etymology ( / ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi /, ET-im-OL-ə-jee[ 1]) is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of a word's semantic meaning across time, including its constituent morphemes and phonemes. [ 2][ 3] It is a subfield of historical linguistics, philology, and semiotics, and draws upon comparative semantics, morphology ...
Etymological dictionaries are the product of research in historical linguistics. For many words in any language, the etymology will be uncertain, disputed, or simply unknown. In such cases, depending on the space available, an etymological dictionary will present various suggestions and perhaps make a judgement on their likelihood, and provide ...
Adianoeta – a phrase carrying two meanings: an obvious meaning and a second, more subtle and ingenious one (more commonly known as double entendre). Alliteration – the use of a series of two or more words beginning with the same letter. Amphiboly – a sentence that may be interpreted in more than one way due to ambiguous structure.
Loaded language. Loaded language[ a] is rhetoric used to influence an audience by using words and phrases with strong connotations. This type of language is very often made vague to more effectively invoke an emotional response and/or exploit stereotypes. [ 1][ 2][ 3] Loaded words and phrases have significant emotional implications and involve ...
"Gerrymander," "blue states," and "red tape." These words populate headlines and newspaper articles regularly, with many writers taking their meaning for granted, but a look through history can ...
Origin language and etymology Example(s) a-, an-not, without (alpha privative) Greek ἀ-/ἀν-(a-/an-), not, without analgesic, apathy, anencephaly: ab-from; away from Latin abduction, abdomen: abdomin-of or relating to the abdomen: Latin abdōmen, abdomen, fat around the belly abdomen, abdominal -ac: pertaining to; one afflicted with
Lexicon. A lexicon (plural: lexicons, rarely lexica) is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical ). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word lexicon derives from Greek word λεξικόν ( lexikon ), neuter of λεξικός ( lexikos) meaning 'of or for words'.
philosophy. A broad field of inquiry concerning knowledge, in which the definition of knowledge itself is one of the subjects investigated. Philosophy is the pursuit of wisdom, spanning the nature of the Universe and human nature (of the mind and the body) as well as the relationships between these and between people.