etymon

1. (linguistics) The original or earlier form of an inherited or borrowed word, affix, or morpheme either from an earlier period in a language's development, from an ancestral language, or from a foreign language.Examples: "Here such cases as ghost words & misglosses, secondary semantics, different etymologies for one etymon or one etymology for different etyma, and finally semantic overpermissiveness are discussed."; "The resulting citation collection was databased and coded for meaning, etymon, and date range (earliest and latest occurrence found)."; "Parricide, the more usual word, means (1) "the murder of one's own father"; or (2) "someone who murders his or her own father" […] It is also used in extended senses, such as "the murder of the ruler of a country" and "the murder of a close relative." These are not examples of slipshod extension, however, for even the Latin etymon (parricida) was used in these senses."Synonyms: ancestor, etymAntonyms: derivative#Noun, reflex