noun
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a statement made to clarify something and make it understandable; explanation; elucidation.
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a deriving or tracing of a word, affix, phrase, etc. as back as possible in its own language and to its cognate forms in contemporary or earlier languages either belonging to the same family or not; etymology.
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the branch of linguistics dealing with origin and development of words, esp. the one developed by Yāska for vedic words and phrases.