Etymology

phonology

pho·no·lo·gy
P3H4O1N1O1L1O1G2Y4

Today it means: The study of the way sounds function in languages, including accent, intonation, phonemes, stress, and syllable structure, and which sounds are distinctive units within a language; (countable) the way sounds function within a given language; a phonological system. Full definition →

First used late 18th c.Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos) ← Proto-Hellenic *lógos ← Proto-Indo-European *lóǵos
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
  2. Proto-Hellenic*pʰōnā́
  3. Ancient Greekφωνή (phōnḗ)
  4. Englishphono-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*leǵ-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*lóǵos
  7. Proto-Hellenic*lógos
  8. Ancient Greekλόγος (lógos)
  9. English todayphonology

From phono- (prefix denoting sound) + -logy (suffix denoting a branch of learning, or a study of a particular subject).

First known use, by meaning

  • from late 18th c. The study of the way sounds function in languages, including accent, intonation, phonemes, stress, and syllable structure, and which sounds are distinctive units within a language; (countable) the way sounds function within a given language; a phonological system.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.