Etymological Visualization Template (ELR) · A disciplined, extensible model

This is the master template for creating visual, reproducible, and cross-linkable etymology maps for any word. It is designed to scale across the entire lexicon while remaining consistent, auditable, and easy to extend without rework.

1. Purpose

  1. Show the word’s lineage (forms, languages, dates, attestations).
  2. Trace phonological, morphological, and semantic changes over time.
  3. Map cognates and borrowing routes across languages.
  4. Visualize recursive correspondences (how the word interlocks with related concepts).
  5. Provide a stable schema so new evidence or branches can be appended cleanly.

2. Scope and boundaries

  1. Focus on one lemma per visualization; allow multiple senses via sense IDs.
  2. Treat homonyms as separate ELR instances with cross-links.
  3. Borrowings, calques, and semantic shifts are explicit edge types (not footnotes only).
  4. Every node and edge must have source attribution and a confidence score.

3. Deliverables (per word)

  1. Lineage Tree (diachronic): PIE/root → classical → medieval → modern.
  2. Phonological Shift Timeline (layer over the tree or as a separate strip).
  3. Morphology Panel: prefix/root/suffix with morpheme glosses.
  4. Semantic Drift Map: sense evolution and splits/mergers.
  5. Cognate and Borrowing Map: cross-language topology.
  6. Recursion Map: interlocking concepts and definitional loops.
  7. Corpus Snapshots: earliest attestation, key quotations, register notes.
  8. Appendix Tiles (optional): frequency/harmonics, symbolic/geometry notes.

4. Naming and IDs

  1. Word ID: ELR:[LANG]-[LEMMA]-[YYYYMMDD] (e.g., ELR:EN-language-20251011).
  2. Node ID: N:[LANG]:[FORM]:[DATE|CENTURY] (e.g., N:LA:lingua:-0500).
  3. Sense ID: S:[LEMMA]:[#] (e.g., S:language:1 = “human communication system”).
  4. Source ID: SRC:[SHORT] (e.g., SRC:OED2024, SRC:Etymo).

5. Visual grammar (legend)

  1. Node shapes
    • Circle = form/lemma; Rounded rectangle = sense; Hexagon = morpheme; Diamond = hypothesis.
  2. Edge types
    • Solid arrow = inheritance; Dashed arrow = borrowing; Dotted arrow = calque; Curved arrow = semantic shift; Double line = merge/split.
  3. Edge labels
    • >PHON (sound change), >ORTH (orthographic), >SEM (semantic), >MORPH (morphological).
  4. Confidence
    • Node/edge opacity and a numeric score [0.0–1.0].

6. Required data fields (node/edge schema)

Use this schema for every node (form, sense, morpheme) and edge (relation).

6.1 Node fields

  • id: unique Node ID
  • type: form | sense | morpheme | hypothesis
  • language: ISO 639-3 or conventional label (PIE, Proto-Germanic, etc.)
  • form: orthographic form
  • ipa: phonetic form (if applicable)
  • morph: decomposition (e.g., lang- + -age)
  • gloss: short gloss (e.g., “tongue; speech”)
  • date: absolute (YYYY-MM-DD) or approximate (century)
  • attestation: earliest text and snippet
  • sources: list of SRC:*
  • confidence: 0.0–1.0
  • notes: brief commentary

6.2 Edge fields

  • from, to: node IDs
  • relation: inheritance | borrowing | calque | semantic_shift | morphological_derivation | phonological_change
  • label: brief description (e.g., “/gw/ > /gʷ/ > /g/”)
  • date_range: if change is period-based
  • sources, confidence, notes

7. Minimal YAML record (authoritative data bundle)

Use this for storage, versioning, and regeneration of diagrams.

elr_id: ELR:EN-[WORD]-[YYYYMMDD]
lemma: [WORD]
primary_language: EN
senses:
  - id: S:[WORD]:1
    gloss: [core sense]
    notes: [scope of sense]
nodes:
  - id: N:PIE:[*ROOT]:[-2500]
    type: form
    language: PIE
    form: "*[root]"
    ipa: "[ipa]"
    gloss: "[gloss]"
    date: "-2500"
    attestation: "[reconstruction note]"
    sources: [SRC:Etymo, SRC:OED2024]
    confidence: 0.6
  - id: N:LA:lingua:-0500
    type: form
    language: LA
    form: "lingua"
    ipa: "ˈlɪŋ.ɡʷa"
    gloss: "tongue; speech; language"
    date: "-0500"
    attestation: "[classical usage]"
    sources: [SRC:LewisShort]
    confidence: 0.9
edges:
  - from: N:PIE:[*ROOT]:[-2500]
    to: N:LA:lingua:-0500
    relation: inheritance
    label: ">PHON + >MORPH"
    date_range: "-2500--0500"
    sources: [SRC:LewisShort, SRC:Etymo]
    confidence: 0.7
metadata:
  created: [YYYY-MM-DD]
  updated: [YYYY-MM-DD]
  maintainers: ["Ronald Legarski"]
  licenses: ["© SolveForce"]

8. Mermaid snippets (portable diagrams)

8.1 Lineage tree (forms)

graph LR
  PIE[*[root]*]:::proto --> LA[lingua]:::classical
  LA --> OF[langage]:::medieval
  OF --> EN[language]:::modern

  classDef proto fill:#eee,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px;
  classDef classical fill:#def,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px;
  classDef medieval fill:#fed,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px;
  classDef modern fill:#dfd,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px;

8.2 Phonological timeline (high-level)

timeline
  title Phonological Shifts
  -2500 : PIE *[root] (reconstructed)
  -0500 : Latin lingua (/ŋɡʷ/)
   1200 : Old French langage (/lãˈɡaʒ/)
   1300 : Middle English language (/ˈlaŋɡwadʒ/)
   1700 : Modern English /ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/

8.3 Semantic drift map (senses)

graph TD
  S1[“tongue (organ)”] -->|metonymy| S2[“speech”]
  S2 -->|abstraction| S3[“system of human communication”]
  S3 -->|extension| S4[“formal symbolic systems (code)”]

8.4 Recursion map (conceptual interlocks)

graph TD
  L[Language] --> W[Word]
  W --> G[Grammar]
  G --> L
  L --> M[Meaning]
  M --> L

9. Checklists

9.1 Evidence checklist

  1. Earliest attestation (quote + source).
  2. IPA for each historical form where reconstructable.
  3. Explicit morpheme glosses (prefix/root/suffix).
  4. At least one cognate set (cross-family if possible).
  5. At least one semantic shift labeled with mechanism (metaphor, metonymy, generalization, specialization, pejoration, amelioration).
  6. Confidence score rationales (one sentence each).

9.2 Quality checklist

  1. All nodes and edges have sources.
  2. No unlabeled arrows; every change is typed.
  3. Dates are normalized; uncertainties flagged (e.g., “c. 1200”).
  4. Homonyms and polysemy are disentangled via S:* sense IDs.
  5. Borrowings vs inheritance are not conflated.
  6. Diagram matches YAML data (regenerate if YAML changes).

10. Extensions (plug-in panels)

  1. Cognate Galaxy: radial map of cognates by language family.
  2. Thesaurus Overlay: synonyms/antonyms with etymological affinities.
  3. Register Lens: formal/colloquial/technical labels over time.
  4. Corpus Metrics: frequency curves (e.g., Google Ngram note) and domain usage.
  5. Symbolic/Harmonic Panel: geometry/number/frequency notes (optional).
  6. Script Evolution Band: orthography snapshots (inscription → print → digital).

11. Recursion and cross-entry navigation

  1. Outbound links: related ELR IDs (e.g., ELR:EN-word-*, ELR:EN-speech-*).
  2. Inbound links: words that depend on this lemma (derivatives/compounds).
  3. Loop Integrity Rule: closed loops must include at least one external reference (corpus or dictionary) to avoid tautology drift.

12. Versioning and change log

  • Use semantic versioning on YAML bundle: vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH.
  • Log entries: date, change type (add/update/remove), affected nodes/edges, rationale, sources added.

13. Accessibility and export

  1. Provide alt text for each diagram (“Lineage tree of [WORD] from PIE to Modern English…”).
  2. Export: SVG (preferred), PNG, and a PDF one-pager.
  3. Include a monochrome variant for print legibility.

14. Authorship and provenance

  • Author: Ronald Legarski · Published by SolveForce®
  • Editors/Contributors: [names]
  • License: © SolveForce — All Rights Reserved.
  • Citation format: short and full references for OED, Lewis & Short, LSJ, Etymonline, etc.

15. Minimal template to clone (fill-in blanks)

15.1 Header

  • Word: [WORD]
  • ELR ID: ELR:[LANG]-[WORD]-[DATE]
  • Scope: [one-line]
  • Summary: [2–3 lines]

15.2 Data bundle

  • YAML (as in §7), including nodes, edges, senses, metadata.

15.3 Diagrams to render

  • Mermaid: lineage, timeline, semantic drift, recursion (as in §8).

15.4 Appendix (optional)

  • Cognate galaxy
  • Thesaurus overlay
  • Corpus snippets (with citations)
  • Symbolic/harmonic notes