English
terminology
Terminology may come from French terminologie.
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English terminology
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, Welcome to the plastisphere: “[The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Frenchc. 1600–presentterminologieWiktionary, English terminologyuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 2013terminologyWiktionary, English terminology. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, Welcome to the plastisphere: “[The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to collect (words)’
election, collection, lesson, select, technology, eligible, elite, collect, elect, elegant, legion, coil, negligence, catalogue, negligible, negligent, leach, diligent, lexicon, lexical, cull, epilogue, astrology, dialectic, legation, alexia, lexis, cosmology, gynecologist, lignite, lignin, ineligibility, dialogic, 149 more
through Proto-Hellenic *lógos
archaeological, pathological, astrological, etymology, homologous, pathophysiology, psychopathology, neurophysiology, histopathology, bacteriological, 101 more
through Ancient Greek λόγος ‘explanation’
logic, apology, trilogy, analogy, sociology, logos, physiology, pathology, logistic, prologue, archaeologist, pathologist, monologue, eulogy, epistemology, entomology, etiology, apologia, syllogism, bacteriology, bacteriologist, 110 more
through Medieval Latin terminus ‘a term’
determination, termination, terminator, determinism, interminable, determinate, 23 more
Today it means
noun A treatise on terms, especially those used in a specialised field.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “terminology”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / French terminologie / terminology