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The determination of how long ago different languages evolved from a common source language
Answer for the clue "The determination of how long ago different languages evolved from a common source language ", 16 letters:
glottochronology
Word definitions for glottochronology in dictionaries
WordNet
Word definitions in WordNet
n. the determination of how long ago different languages evolved from a common source language; "he mapped the glottochronology of the Romance languages"
Wikipedia
Word definitions in Wikipedia
Glottochronology (from Attic Greek γλῶττα “tongue, language” and χρóνος “time”) is that part of lexicostatistics dealing with the chronological relationship between languages. The idea was developed by Morris Swadesh under two assumptions: first that there ...
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Word definitions in Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1953, from glotto- + chronology .
Wiktionary
Word definitions in Wiktionary
n. The study of languages to determine when they diverged from being the same language.
Usage examples of glottochronology.
By a method termed glottochronology, based on calculations of how rapidly words tend to change over historical time, comparative linguistics can even yield estimated dates for domestications or crop arrivals.