more about word origins

Of course, the origins of words are fundamental to the language arts, and indeed, to a complete understanding and appreciation of many other arts.

about etymology

You may have noticed that The Muse Of Language Arts frequently uses the etymological approach to language. So do Electricka and all her cohorts. There is a strong connection between the way The Muse Of Language Arts approaches Word Origins and the field of etymology:

Etymology is the study of the origin and historical development of a linguistic form as shown by determining its basic elements, earliest known use, and changes in form and meaning, tracing its transmission from one language to another, identifying its cognates in other languages, and reconstructing its ancestral form where possible.

In other words, etymology is the study of word derivations and provenances.

The English word etymology itself has a history. It originated in Middle English in the 14th century. It is derived from the Latin word etymologia, which in turn is from the Greek etymológ(os), which means studying the true meanings and values of words.

Thus, the etymology of an expression is not just an account of its geography, history, or linguistic changes that it undergoes as it evolves; it's not just an account of the reasons for these changes. Etymology recognizes that words are products of their times, that they are shaped by the society which originates them and by world events. The etymological approach to understanding words exploits this fact; it's what makes it a vital discipline.

About Etymology and word origins

The definition of etymology given above includes the clause, studying the true meanings and values of words. This clause is significant. What The Muse Of Language Arts is after when dealing with a word origin is the true sense of a word in all its richness and from all its perspectives. This includes its relations with other words or expressions and the thought that went into coining it.

When The Muse uses the term word origin, The Muse means the complete story of how and why an expression got to be what it is, not just the who, when, and where. Most important, The Muse wants to know the idea—the thinking—behind the word. Why did those who coined a term come at the idea it expresses from the particular direction they chose? They could have come with the idea from a number of directions or they could have adopted it from another language. But if they didn't, why didn't they?

For example:

• Those who coined the term flank speed could have expressed the idea as full speed ahead, but they didn't. Why did they choose the word flank instead? It turns out that etymologists don't have all the answers on flank speed; they know the nautical history—the when and where of its origin and usage—but they don't have the notion behind it. Until they do, they won't have the complete etymology.
• Those who coined the expression pull out all the stops could have expressed the idea as use every means available, but they didn't. Why did they choose pull out all the stops instead?

In the case of pull out all the stops, we have a satisfying answer. The expression arises in connection with organ stops. In music, stop is the act of closing a finger hole or pressing a string of an instrument in order to produce a particular note; it's a device or contrivance on an instrument for accomplishing this. On a pipe organ, a stop knob or stop handle is a knob or handle that is drawn out or pushed back to permit or prevent the sounding of a set of pipes or to control some other part of the organ. The more stops you pull, the louder and more powerful-sounding the organ.

Notice that pull out all the stops is a grander, more eloquent way of saying try everything. Often, knowing a word origin tells us more about a word than does its literal meaning, historic origin, or geographic origin alone. The association with organs gives the expression a twist; it adds a richness, associative power, and importance which the phrase otherwise lacks. The weight of this association with organs would have artistic value in situations where the expression is used in a poem or in some other form of art.

benefits

Given what is said above, it should be clear that familiarity with word origins brings numerous benefits. Here are some of them.

On a personal level, learning about a word's origins can:

• Help one to use words correctly, expressively, and more effectively.
• Round out an understanding of the full and true significance of a word.
• Develop the habit of tuning into a word's implicit as well as its explicit meanings, significance, and importance.
• Fix a word's full and complete meaning in the mind, thereby adding to one's comprehension and personal expressive power.
• Help with vocabulary building.
• Help develop a faculty for wordplay.
• Encourage the use of figures of speech and trope in writing and speaking.
• Give one things to think about.
• Be fun.

On a global level, studying word origins can:

• Uncover all of a word's different senses.
• Establish whether a word is in current use or whether it is obsolete or archaic.
• Facilitate the comparative study of languages.
• Be a tool for the study of culture or history.
• Give insight into the relationships between current and historical words.
• Give insight into the relationships among current words.
• Trace the derivation and evolution of a word's origins, meanings, pronunciations, or orthographies (etymology).
• Illuminate the principles and causes behind how and why words change (historical linguistics).