Epistemology
The word "epistemology" is derived from the ancient Greek "epistēmē" meaning "knowledge" and the suffix "-logy", meaning "logical discourse" (derived from the Greek word "logos" meaning "discourse"). It is analogue to the German "Wissenschaftslehre" (literally, theory of science) which was introduced by philosophers Johann Fichte and Bernard Bolzano in the late 18th century. The word first appeared in English in 1847 as a translation of the German in New York's "Eclectic Magazine" review of a philosophical novel by German author Jean Paul:
Medieval etymology
Etymology is the study of the origins of words. Before the beginnings of large-scale modern lexicography in the 16th century and the development of the comparative method in the 18th, a scientific etymology as modern linguistics understand it was not possible. However, grammarians had always speculated about the origins of words. There are many examples of etymology in the Bible, for example, and in the works of classical writers. In cases where the history of the words was simple, such speculations have sometimes proved correct in the light of modern scholarship, but generally they were based on superficial similarities.