etymologist

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The word came into English as “empechen” by way of the Old French word empechier, meaning to prevent or to hinder, according to the British etymologist Michael Quinion.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 18, 2019

Others, such as etymologist and author Michael Quinion, have found references dating back to 1903.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 31, 2015

He’s just enough of an etymologist to notice that “beheading” is both a noun and a verb.

From New York Times • Jul. 7, 2010

It’s often impossible to definitively determine a phrase’s linguistic birthplace, but based on the digging of etymologist Barry Popik, the phrase seems to have originated in the graffiti community of Oakland, California.

From Slate

Sometimes also his zeal as an etymologist misled him, as in his famous attempt to make the word bridegroom more conformable to its supposed Anglo-Saxon root and its modern Teutonic congeners.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 05, No. 31, May, 1860 by Various