Etiology
Etiology (alternately
aetiology,
aitiology) is the study of
causation. It comes from the Greek meaning 'concerned with origins' so can refer to myths as well as medical and philosophical theories.
The term (deriving from the
Greek words
aitia = cause and
logos = word/speech) is used in
philosophy,
physics,
psychology, and
biology in reference to the causes of various phenomena. It is generally the study of why things occur, or even the reasons behind the way that things act.
In
medicine in particular, the term refers to the causes of
diseases or
pathologies. An example of the usage can be found in Ref.
[Greene, Joanne, The three C's of etiology, Wide Smiles website], which discusses the etiology of
cleft lips and explains several methods used to study causation.
* In
Biblical criticism, etiologies give theological explanations for names or occurrences. Example: the story of
Lot's wife in Genesis 19 (specifically 26) explains why there are pillars of salt in the area of the
Dead Sea.
[notes in Oxford Annotated Edition, Revised Standard Version of the Bible, 1973]* A second example might be that of the setting of the rainbow in the heavens as a sign of God's covenant with Noah - and through him all mankind (Genesis 9). In this instance the episode is included in the story of the flood: a story common in mesopotamian influenced civilizations. In this case the etiology is incidental to the account of the event.
* An
etiological myth is a
myth intended to explain a name or create a mythic history for a place or family. For example, the name
Delphoi and its associated deity,
Apollon Delphinios, are explained in the
Homeric Hymn which tells how Apollo carried
Cretans over the sea in the shape of a
dolphin to make them his priests. While there is an actual etymological connection between
Delphoi and
delphis (
delphus means "womb"), many etiological myths are based on
popular etymology (the term "
Amazon", for example). In Virgil's
Aeneid (published circa 17 BC), many places are given mythical histories, but more importantly the then ruling
Julian Family are related back to the mythical hero
Aeneas through his son Ascanius, whose second name was
Iulus (since I and J were interchangeable
Iulus become
Julus and thence the
Julians).
An example of the word in use:
-- Ref.
[Dodd, G. H. and Van Toller, C. (editors), Perfumery, 1986, from Foreword]*
Placebo (origins of technical term)
