Paronym: beside + a name

The other day, this word popped up on my screen saver (a rolling dictionary). It was a divine gift for me. I have always had a fascination with the essential meaning of words; that is, the kernel of meaning at the heart of the word. I especially like words that are overused and rarely understood in their full. Despite my logophilia, the closest word I could find to name my hobby was "etymology."

Then, all of the sudden, right before my eyes it came to me: "paronym."

Paronym: a word that is a derivative of another and has a related meaning, a word formed by adaptation of a foreign word. The etymology of paronym is Greek, para-, "beside," onuma, "a name."

So now I know that I am a logophile with interest in the etymology of paronyms.