Etymology
a term applied to that part of grammar which treats of the various inflections and modifications of words and shows how they are formed from simple roots; and to that branch of philology which traces the history of words from their origin to their latest form and meaning. Etymology in this latter sense, or the investigation of the origin and growth of words, is among the oldest of studies. It was not till modern times, and particularly since the study of Sanskrit, that etymology has been scientifically studied. Languages then began to be properly classed in groups and families, and words were studied by a comparison of their growth and relationship in different languages.
It was recognized that the development of language is not an arbitrary or accidental matter, but proceeds according to general laws. The result was a great advance in etymological knowledge and the formation of a new science of philology.
EUBEA (ū-bē'ä), formerly called Negropont, a Greek Greek island, the second EUCHER largest island of the Ægean Sea. It is 90 miles long, 30 in greatest breadth, reduced at one point to 4 miles. It is separated from the mainland of Greece by the narrow channels of Egripo and Talanta. It is connected with the Bœotian shore by a bridge. There are several mountain peaks over 2,000 feet, and one over 7,000 feet. The island is wellwooded and remarkably fertile. Wine is a staple product, and cotton, wool, pitch, and turpentine are exported. The chief towns are Chalcis and Karyst. The island was anciently divided among seven independent cities, the most important of which were Chalcis and Eretria, and its history is for the most part identical with that of those two cities. With some small islands it forms a modern nomarchy, with a population of about 100,000.