Question

explain the significance of etymology in language development. Use examples of words and their origins to support your ideas. Consult a dictionary or other resources as needed to cite at least two examples.

Answer 1

It may be not needed but I would like to start the explanation by stating what etymology is. Etymology is the study of the origin of the words, their roots and their changes over different periods of time. Having said this, let us now describe why etymology is significant in the development of languages. The importance of the study of the origin, the roots and the constituents of words comes crucial when trying to form bigger and more complex vocabulary as ones advances in their academic life. it is also a crucial discipline to analyze when studying a second or a foreign language. Languages sometimes share origins in word formation, and knowing this facilitates the learning process. For example:

1.- The English word Marinade comes from the French Mariner which also comes from the Latin Marinare that means to soak in cooking liquid. In Spanish the word to mean the same is Marinar.

2.- The English Word Blouse comes also from the French Blouse /blus/ it is written the same but the pronunciation changes. And in Spanish the word is Blusa.

By analyzing these examples we can see that knowing the etymology of a word helps us learn vocabulary from different languages that share their words' roots and origins.