HOW WORDS MOVE.
HOW MEANINGS MUTATE.

French transmitted the learned Latin form with Romance phonology.

The name of the rational art remained technical.

Latin logica borrowed and adapted Greek λογική.

The Greek “logical art” became the Latin discipline.

Greek λογική is the substantivized feminine of λογικός, conventionally with an understood noun such as τέχνη.

“Pertaining to reasoning” becomes the name of the art itself.

λογικός is formed on λόγος with the adjectival suffix -ικός.

The broad λόγος family narrows to what pertains to account, reason, or discourse.

Greek ἐτυμολογία contains the -λογία formation belonging to the λόγος family.

The “account / study” member combines with ἔτυμος “true, real” to form etymology.

English preserved the learned form with later English vowel and stress development.

The adjective broadened from juridical status to rule-conformity more generally.

Anglo-French borrowed Latin lēgālis through regular Romance adaptation.

Pertaining to law remained the core sense.

Latin lēgālis is formed on lēx, leg- “law.”

The law noun becomes a relational adjective.

English adapted Late Latin lectūra through the medieval learned tradition.

An act of reading became an instructional discourse and later a scolding.

lectūra is a deverbal noun built from the participial stem lēct-.

Reading is nominalized as an act or practice.

lēctus is the suppletive-looking past participle used with legere.

What has been gathered or selected becomes what has been read.

Final unstressed -e was lost and spelling stabilized as legend.

Saintly reading matter expanded to inherited story, inscription, and explanatory key.

Middle English adapted the Anglo-French form.

The reading and saint’s-life senses continued.

Anglo-French transmitted Medieval Latin legenda.

Materials appointed for reading became a category of devotional narrative.

legenda is the feminine singular or neuter plural gerundive formation represented in medieval use.

“Things to be read” becomes a lexical category.

legendus is the gerundive of legere.

Obligation or appointment to read supplies the literal formation.

English borrowed the French abstract noun with later pronunciation change.

Understanding expands into news, strategic information, and the organizations that obtain it.

French transmitted Latin intelligentia.

Understanding and discernment remain central.

The abstract noun intelligentia is formed on the participial stem intelligent-.

A discerning or understanding quality becomes an abstract capacity.

intelligēns is the present participial formation of intellegere / intelligere.

The one understanding supplies the adjective and abstract noun family.

Middle English inflection was lost and the learned spelling stabilized.

Accumulating and inferring broadened into the modern family of gathering, receiving, and regaining control.

Middle English borrowed the Anglo-French verb.

Accumulating, inferring, and calculating are recorded early senses.

Anglo-French transmitted the Latin participial stem.

The gathered-together sense remains transparent.

collēctus is the past participle of colligere.

A completed gathering becomes the collected state.