Origin: Greek suffix -ology
Etymology has 3 different meanings across 1 category:
a history of a word
the study of the sources and development of words
The study of the historical development of languages, particularly as manifested in individual words.
The word "etymology" comes from the Ancient Greek words for "true sense" and "study," combining to mean the study of the true meaning behind a word. It traveled into English through Middle English and Old French before taking on its current definition as the branch of linguistics that investigates word origins.