Standard Lemma guide

etiological

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˌiːtɪəˈlɒd͡ʒɪkəl/

1

adj

Meaning 1

Relating to an etiology

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective

Meaning 2

relating to the etiology of a disease

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • etiological agent

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: etiologic, aetiological, aetiologic

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective

Meaning 3

of or relating to the philosophical study of causation

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: etiologic, aetiological, aetiologic

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h2ey-der. Ancient Greek αἰτῐ́ᾱ (aitĭ́ā) Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos) Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh2 Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek -λογίᾱ (-logíā) Ancient Greek αἰτῐολογῐ́ᾱ (aitĭologĭ́ā)der. Latin aetiologiabor. English etiology Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ic Proto-Indo-European *h2el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al Middle English -ical English -ical English etiological From etiology + -ical. By surface analysis, etio- + -logical.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: etiològic — Translations
  • Finnish: etiologinen — Translations
  • French: étiologique — Translations
  • German: ätiologisch — Translations
  • Greek: αιτιολογικός (aitiologikós) — Translations
  • Italian: etiologico — Translations
  • Portuguese: etiológico — Translations
  • Russian: этиологи́ческий (etiologíčeskij) — Translations
  • Spanish: etiológico — Translations
  • Turkish: etiyolojik — Translations