ETYMOLOGY (Gr.) is that part of grammar that treats of of words. It embraces the consideration of the elements of words, or letters and syllables, the dif ferent kinds of words, their forms, and the notions they convey; • and lastly, the modes of their formation by derivation and composition. Etymological inquiries formed a favorite pursuit from the earliest times. In the book of Genesis, numerous indications arc given of the derivation of proper names. Homer also attempts etymologies of the names of gods and men, which, however, can only be looked upon as more or less ingenious fancies. The grammarians of Alexandria and Varro among the Romans tried to base their etymologies on something like principle; but the wildest conjectures con tinued to be indulged in, and the results were little better than guess-work down to a very recent period. As philology extended its sphere, and became acquainted with the languages and grammarians of the east, who far excelled those of the west in this par ticular, etymology took on a new form. It no longer sought the relations of the words of a single language exclusively within itself, but extended its view to a whole group, e.g., the Teutonic, or wider still, to a whole family, as the Indo-European, or Aryan (q.v.), and became a new science under the name of comparative grammar. See PHILOLOGY.
Etymologieum Magnum is the name of a Greek lexicon, the oldest of the kind, pro fessing to give the roots of the words. It appears to belong to the 10th c.; the author's name is unknown. The etymologies are mere guesses, sometimes right, often wildly absurd; but the book is, valuable, as containing many traditions and notices of the meanings of old and tintisual words. There is an edition, by SChafer:(Leip. 1816); one by Sturz, called Etymologieum Gudianum (Leip. 1818); and another by Gaisford (Oxf. 1849).
Ell, a tolerably well-built t. of France, in the department of the Lower Seine, in Normandy, situated near the mouth of the Bresle, 93 m. n.n.w. of Paris. It is remarka ble for its fine Gothic church, and for the chateau d'Eu, a low building of red brick, with high tent-shaped roofs of slate. E. manufactures sail-cloth, ropes, soap, lace, and silk. Pop. '76, 4,169. In the 11th and 12th centuries, E. was in the possession of the counts of the same name, a collateral branch of the Norman royal family. After various vicissitudes, it was purchased by Mademoiselle de Montpensier in 1675, whose fanciful taste has perpetuated itself in the architecture and decoration of the chateau. At a later period, it came into the possession of the duke of Maine, from whom it passed to the duke of Penthievre, the maternal grandfather of Louis Philippe, who succeeded to it in 1821. Louis Philippe expended large sums on the embellishment of the chateau, and especially on its magnificent park and the unique portrait-gallery. It has besides acquired a new historical association through the visits of the queen of England in 1843 and 1845. The eldest son of the duke of Nemours (born 29th April, 1842) received from his royal grandfather the title of Count d'Eu. Compare Vatout, Le Chateau d'Ea, Notices Ristorigues (5 vols., Paris, 1836), his Residences Royales (Paris, 1839).
EU, Prince LOINS PITELIPPE MARIE FERDDIAND GASTON D'ORLEANS, Compte d', b. France, 1842; eldest son of duke de Nemours and grandson of Louis Philippe. In 1864, he was married to Isabel, heiress-apparent of the throne of Brazil. He is a marshal in the Brazilian army, and was commander-in-chief of the allied forces in the war with Paraguay in 1869. He defeated Lopez, and proclaimed the abolition of slavery iu Paraguay.