palaeontology
Meaningthe study of ancient being
Common meaning: the science of fossils
- palaeold, ancientLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 586 · scan
- ontoGreek element: beings, things that exist (onta)
- loga word, saying; reckoning, reasonLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 476 · scan
- ynoun ending: study, state or act
‘old, ancient’ + ‘a word, saying’ → palaeontology
Journey through time
Neither part’s path through time is traced in our sources yet; each root is shown from its dictionary entry.
- palae — Greek παλαιός “old, ancient” (dictionary form; path not traced)
- log — Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos) “a word, saying; reckoning, reason” (dictionary form; path not traced)
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: not available. Respelling: generated.
- US IPA: not available. Respelling: generated.
Origin: Built on Greek παλαιός ‘old, ancient’ + Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos) ‘a word, saying; reckoning, reason’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), entry παλαιός, p. 586 · dictionary scan
Roots
- λόγος (lógos) Ancient Greek “a word, saying; reckoning, reason”
- παλαιός Greek “old, ancient”
Related words
analogousanthologyanthropologyantitechnologyastrologyatheologybiologycardiologychronologydermatologyecologyepilogue
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