ETIOLOGY ETYMOLOGY

I've already covered entomology and how it should never be confused with etymology... well, here's another such word. Etiology is the study of origins, normally referring to diseases but not necessarily (so, yes, etymology could be said to be the etiology​ of words). Anyway, the word etiology (alternatively but less commonly spelled aetiology or aitiology) comes from the Greek word aitologia, which literally meant "statement of cause", as aitia was a word for "cause" or "responsibility" and logia meant "speaking". Aitia may be reconstructed to a Proto-Indo-European root sounding like ai, and meaning "to give" or "allot". I've already discussed logia​ several times, but again can't hurt: it's from logos, or "explanation", from legere, a verb meaning "to say", and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European leg, "to gather". Etiology as a word is actually used three times as often as etymology, so beware of finding it in the wild and mistaking it- a common error.