The study of the historical development of languages, particularly as manifested in individual words
"E-tailer" is quite interesting, as the "e-" prefix (for "electronic", as in "e-mail") replaces an element of the word "retailer" rather than simply being tacked on to the start of the word (as in "e-mail", "e-commerce", and so on) My etymology reads: [ e- (in ELECTRONIC a , after E-MAIL n ) + -tailer (in RETAILER n ) ]
That branch of philological science which treats of the history of words, tracing out their origin, primitive significance, and changes of form and meaning
Etymology is derived from the Greek word e/)tymon(etymon) meaning "a sense" and logo/j(logos) meaning "word " Etymology is the study of the original meaning and development of a word tracing its meaning back as far as possible
The history and origin of a word and its shifts in meaning over time The word "etymology" comes from the Greek eteos, true, plus logos, word or idea This is its etymology