etymologische

Etymologische is the German adjective meaning "etymological." It is used to describe things that relate to etymology, the study of the origins and historical development of words. Grammatically, etymologische is the attributive form used before feminine singular nouns (die etymologische Herkunft), and its forms change with gender and case according to standard German adjective declension.

In linguistic writing, lexicography and dictionaries, etymologische explanations indicate that a word’s form, meaning, or usage can be traced back to its historical roots. Etymologische notes may cover the word’s earliest attested forms, its semantic shifts, and its connections to related words in the same or different languages. Such notes help readers understand how words have evolved over time and why they appear in a given form today.

The term itself derives from etymologie, the study of word origins, which in turn comes from Greek etymologia (from etymon "true sense" and -logia "study of"). The adjective etymologisch (and the feminine form etymologische) thus label material that concerns that field. In English, the equivalent is etymological, while the German usage reflects standard patterns of attributive adjectives in modern German.

See also: etymology, linguistics, philology, lexicography.