| etymon |
| Definition: A word that another word has been derived from. |
| Example: The English word semantics was derived from the French sémantique; thus the latter is an etymon. |
| Etymology: In Greek the word means "true sense" (from etymos, true). |
| Oxford English Dictionary: Its first citation is from 1570–6: "Thus much then concerning the Etymon of this woorde Gavelkinde." (Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 477) |