etic

etic [et-ik] Word Origin adjective Linguistics.

1. pertaining to or being the raw data of a language or other area of behavior, without considering the data as significant units functioning within a system.

Compare emic. Origin of etic 1950–55; extracted from phonetic; see emic -etic

1. a suffix used in the formation of adjectives: eidetic.

Origin of -etic Latin -eticus, Greek -etikos, equivalent to -et-, a formative occurring in some nouns + -ikos -ic Word Origin and History for etic adj.

1954, coined by U.S. linguist K.L. Pike (1912-2000) from ending of phonetic.

-etic

word-forming element meaning “pertaining to,” from Greek -etikos, adjectival suffix for nouns ending in -esis.