Yes. Soft science. Technically, and in view of demarcation, social science; linguistics.

To give some scope, code cracking is about mathematics, etymology is anthropomorphic. They're similar.

For example, Latine implicat totum. Latin ties all. The middle word is root for implication, the last total.

When you have words like this, the evidence is made of letters, like an equation. It's not speculative.

There is in language a continuing tension between flexibility and the new, and codification. And there has to be both. Cracking a code means you have discovered what something means - presumably a fixed and determinate meaning. Etymology means you have information about the history of words and maybe also their historical meanings. But the idea of translation matters here. Meaning and translation are not the same things. In a sense, translation obliterates original meaning that the translator then tries to recover as much as he can as best he can, inevitably failing in a variety of ways.

The Christian Bible seems an example par excellence. Lots of the words can be rendered, but once rendered, readers suppose the modern meanings are accurate, and of course to the extent that the words are modern, they are not accurate. Significance and meaning are lost.

The Christian Bible seems an example par excellence. Lots of the words can be rendered, but once rendered, readers suppose the modern meanings are accurate, and of course to the extent that the words are modern, they are not accurate. Significance and meaning are lost. — tim wood

I was thinking something similar. It seems we have more evidence of evolution than we do evidence that Christians truly understand what the Bible means lol

was thinking something similar. It seems we have more evidence of evolution than we do evidence that Christians truly understand what the Bible means lol — Gregory

And that depends entirely on what you mean by "understand."

Gregory
968
So.. what is the relationship between cracking codes (like in wartime) and tracing words throughout history? Where do we get our senses of probability when it comes to history and especially etymology? How can one say with certainty "it's unlikely this word did not precede this other one"? — Gregory

We cannot say almost anything with certainty...
...but with regard to etymology and "whether this word preceded this other" can be determined by etymologists simply by looking at where and when a word was first used.

Some atheists suggest that the word atheist means without a "belief" in any gods because the word "theist" means "with a belief in a god"...and the prefix "a" means without.

BUT the word atheist came into use in the English language 100 years BEFORE theist...so that derivation cannot be.

Just an example.