Linguistics
/lɪŋˈɡwɪs.tɪks/noun
The scientific study of language and its structure.
Did you know?The root behind *linguistics* is tied to Latin *lingua* (“tongue; language”), the same ancient source that also gave us words like *sublingual* and *bilingual*—proof that speech was once imagined as something physically carried by the tongue.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dngʰwéh₂s
“tongue”
Latin
Latin
lingua
“tongue; language”
Old French
Old French
langage
“speech; language”
Late Latin
Latin
linguisticus
“of language”
18th Century
English
linguistics
“the study of language”
Explore more surprising origins