What is the word for the study of words origins?

Answer 1

The study of word origins is called etymology. Check out the online etymology dictionary at

http://www.etymonline.com/

Answer 2

Ετυμολογία (in Greek)
or Etymology

Etymology is the study of the origins of words. Through old texts and comparison with other languages, etymologists reconstruct the history of words — when they entered a language, from what source, and how their form and meaning changed.

In languages with a long written history etymology makes use of philology, the study of old texts. However, etymologists also apply the methods of comparative linguistics to reconstruct information about languages that are too old for any direct information (such as writing) to be known. By comparing related languages with a technique known as the comparative method, linguists can make inferences about their shared parent language and its vocabulary. In this way, word roots have been found which can be traced all the way back to the origin of, for instance, the Indo-European language family.

Even though etymological research originally grew from the philological tradition, nowadays much etymological research is done in language families where little or no early documentation is available, such as Uralic and Austronesian.

The word etymology itself comes from the Greek ἔτυμον (étymon, true meaning, from 'etymos' true) and λόγος (lógos, word). The term was originally applied to the search of supposedly "original" or "true" meanings of words, an idea which is rejected as unscientific by modern linguistics.

Answer 3

evolutionist.

Etymology is the study of origin of words. but my answer might be wrong.

I guess it would really matter into what study of origin you want. ie animals, history, words

Answer 4

Etymology I think

Answer 5

etymology I believe.

Answer 6

etymology

Answer 7

That would be Etymology.
Helps?