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

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

No etymologist could have accounted for the name of our nation had he not had recourse to our annals.

From Amenities of Literature Consisting of Sketches and Characters of English Literature by Disraeli, Isaac