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.
As the etymologist Anatoly Liberman has pointed out, in its earliest forms, haga, hegg and hegge, the word meant “enclosure” or “yard,” especially the residence of a feudal lord.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
John Kelly, an etymologist and senior research editor at Dictionary.com, wrote in a 2017 post on his etymology website, Mashed Radish.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 18, 2019
I’m no etymologist; I don’t know when that exclamation point became a question mark and was wrapped in sarcasm.
From New York Times ● Oct. 1, 2012
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
The etymologist must either be an antiquary or must know where to go for sound antiquarian information.
From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Ernest Weekley
