Etymology Assignment

Whats the Good Word?
Etymology Project Guidelines

Word sleuths, get your dictionaries ready! Choose a topic from the next page to learn more
about how words become part of the English language. (If you want a topic that isnt on the list,
speak to your teacher about another topic.) Research your topic. The Internet is probably the
best place to find resources, however you may also want to look in a dictionary or other
reference books as well. Etymology projects are due on _____________, and you will present
in class about your topic that week.
Step 1: Choose an etymology topic to research or come up with your own topic.
Step 2: Do research and take notes about what you learn. For this project, please write down the
name/title of whatever websites or books you use on the Works Cited page.
Step 3: Work on a presentation for the class:
a) You need to create a visual project (poster, sign, report, pamphlet, etc.) Your project
will be displayed in our classroom or hallway. Please make sure that your project
includes a title, your name, and information about your topic.
b) You will also teach our class about the topic with a 1-minute presentation. You should
not write your oral presentation; you simply need to tell the class about what you
learned from your project. You may want to practice telling a family member about
your project, but you should not spend a lot of time practicing a speech. This is just
an informal discussion.
Project Rubric:
____ My project includes detailed information about the etymology topic I chose. My
information is accurate and in my own words. (Do not copy sentences directly from websites or
books; this will result in a score of zero.) 3 points
____ My project is creative and organized. My work is neat. You can tell I worked my hardest
and that I am proud of my work. 2 points
____ Words are spelled correctly, and I use correct capitalization and punctuation. 2 points
____ I include a Works Cited page that lists the websites and books I used. 1 point
____ I completed my project on time. 1 point
____ I presented about my topic to the class. I spoke clearly, and included the most important
facts that I learned about my topic. 1 point
Total Score: ____/10
Created for classroom use by Alycia Zimmerman
Whats the Good Word? Etymology Project Topics
1) How do dictionaries decide what new words to add to the dictionary each year?
2) Choose a new word (or several new words) that has been added to the dictionary recently,
and research the new word. How did this word get invented? What does it mean? Why was it
added to the dictionary?
3) Merriam Webster (a dictionary publisher) posts words on their website that people submit to
be included in the dictionary. These are words that are not yet included in the dictionary. You
can see the list at http://nws.merriam-webster.com/opendictionary/newword_display_recent.php. Choose
some of these new words and write about why you think that these words should or shouldnt
be added to the dictionary.
4) Britishisms Research words that are different in British English and American English
(like lift/elevator.) You may also want to look at how words are spelled differently in England
and the United States. (color/colour) Why are there these differences?
5) Pick some words and learn about the origin of your words. Words have some interesting
stories behind them! Some sample words: ok, quiz, snob, cotton, nocturnal/diurnal, alphabet,
jeopardy
6) When describing order, we use the words primary (first level,) secondary (second level,) and
tertiary (third level.) Research these words. What comes after tertiary for the fourth level? How
about after that? Where do these words come from?
7) Extreme Words! Explore the longest words, words that have the most vowels, words with the
most syllables, etc.
8) Research words for very large numbers. Millions, billions, trillions then what? How did
these words come to be?
9) How many words are there in English? Why is this a problematic question?
10) Why is the letter W called double-u and not double-v?
11) Just as words are added to the dictionary every year, some words are considered to old-
fashioned and are deleted. See this article about obsolete words:
www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/aug/21/endangered-words-collins-dictionary. Research about obsolete
(old) words. What do you think? Should words be removed from dictionaries? Choose an
obsolete word that you think should be brought back into use.

12) What is slang? Is slang good or bad? Are there slang words that should be permitted in
school or in formal settings?
13) How did we get the names for the days of the week?
14) How did we get the names for our months?
15) Why does the number 2 have a w in its spelling? (two)
16) How did shapes get their names?
17) -ology means the study of. Explore various -ologies at www.amnh.org/ology/, and meet
over 100 different Ologists, from Arachnology to Ornithology. Write about the different
ologies you explore.
18) Synonyms are words that mean the same thing. Antonyms are words that are opposites.
What are antagonyms? Explore antagonyms and give plenty of examples.
19) Explore palindromes, words that are the same read forwards and backwards.
20) Acronyms are words made from other word parts. What are some acronyms that you hear a
lot? Explore common and uncommon acronyms.
Or come up with your own topic about words! What are you curious about?
(For inspiration, or just to listen to a great program about word histories, check out the NPR
radio program online, A Way With Words at www.waywordradio.org.)

Whats the Good Word? Works Cited in my Research
Here is a list of books and/or websites I used for my research:
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
(**You just need to write the title of the books you use, or the name of the websites you use.
You do not need to include the web address.)

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Whats the Good Word?

Etymology Project Guidelines

Step 3: Work on a presentation for the class:

____ I completed my project on time. 1 point

10) Why is the letter W called double-u and not double-v?

Created for classroom use by Alycia Zimmerman

14) How did we get the names for our months?

15) Why does the number 2 have a w in its spelling? (two)

16) How did shapes get their names?

Created for classroom use by Alycia Zimmerman

Created for classroom use by Alycia Zimmerman

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