Etymology

geodesy

G2E1O1D2E1S1Y4

Today it means: The discipline which deals with the measurement and representation of Earth, its gravitational field and geodynamic phenomena (polar motion, Earth tides, and crustal motion) in three-dimensional, time-varying space. Full definition →

French géodésie ← Medieval Latin geōdaesia ← Ancient Greek γεωδαισία
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromγεωδαισία
  2. Medieval Latin · derived fromgeōdaesia
  3. French · borrowed fromgéodésie
  4. English todaygeodesy

From French géodésie, from Medieval Latin geōdaesia, from Ancient Greek γεωδαισία (geōdaisía), from γῆ (gê, “earth”) + δαίω (daíō, “to divide”). By surface analysis, geode + -esy.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.