What is the study of the history of words and how their form and meaning have changed over time?
Etymology Etymology Etymology () is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. By extension, the term "the etymology (of a word)" means the origin of the particular word. When talking about place names, there is a specific term, toponymy. For a language—such as Greek—with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during earlier periods of their history and when they entered the languages in question. Etymologists also apply the methods of
Natural history study the disease course of patients given the proposed therapy to show how the natural progression is changed or perhaps halted by the therapy. Natural history study In medicine, a natural history study is a study that follows a group of people over time who have, or are at risk of developing, a specific medical condition or disease. A natural history study collects health information over time in order to understand how the medical condition or disease develops and to give insight into how it might be treated. A natural history study is often submitted when applying to the FDA or