Etymology vs. Etiology — What's the Difference?

Etymology () is the study of the history of words. By extension, the etymology of a word means its origin and development throughout history.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts, and texts about the language, to gather knowledge about how words were used during earlier periods, how they developed in meaning and form, or when and how they entered the language.

Etiology (pronounced ; alternatively: aetiology or ætiology) is the study of causation or origination. The word is derived from the Greek αἰτιολογία (aitiología) "giving a reason for" (αἰτία, aitía, "cause"; and -λογία, -logía).

The study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history

The study of causes or origins.

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.

The branch of medicine that deals with the causes or origins of disease.

The branch of linguistics that deals with etymologies.

Assignment of a cause, an origin, or a reason for something.

The study of the historical development of languages, particularly as manifested in individual words.

The cause or origin of a disease or disorder as determined by medical diagnosis.

(countable) The origin and historical development of a word; the derivation.

Standard spelling of aetiology

(countable) An account of the origin and historical development of a word as presented in a dictionary or the like.

The science of causes. Same as tiology.

That branch of philological science which treats of the history of words, tracing out their origin, primitive significance, and changes of form and meaning.

The cause of a disease

That part of grammar which relates to the changes in the form of the words in a language; inflection.

The philosophical study of causation

A history of a word

The study of the sources and development of words