Étymologiquement

Étymologiquement is a French adverb meaning “etymologically” or “in terms of etymology.” It is used to refer to the origin and historical development of a word, rather than to its current sense or usage. The term is common in linguistic, philological, and historical writing when the origin of a word is being discussed.

Formation and origin of the word

The adverb is formed from the adjective étymologique (“etymological”), which itself comes from étymologie, the science of word origins. Étymologie derives from Latin etymologia, which in turn comes from Greek etumología (ἐτυμολογία), from etymon meaning “true sense” and the suffix -logia meaning “study of.” The related noun and adjective are used to discuss roots, historical meanings, and the lineage of terms, while étymologiquement specifically marks language about origin.

Usage considerations

Étymologiquement is typically found in scholarly or precise prose. It signals that a claim concerns the historical source of a word rather than its present-day meaning. It can also be used to preface explanations that involve borrowings, derivations, or semantic shifts over time. While it can be informative, it is not always necessary in everyday speech, where simpler phrases such as “du point de vue étymologique” may suffice.

Examples

Étymologiquement, le mot philosophie provient du grec philosophia, qui signifie amour de la sagesse. This usage highlights the word’s origin rather than its current sense.

See also

Étymologie, étymologique.