The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word ETYMON
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
E
T
Y
M
O
N
More clues leading to the result ETYMON
- This person's about to enter college to find origin of word
- Note my oddly original word
- True origin of my note needs to be reviewed
- An earlier form of a word — note my composition
- Origin of word 'Extraterrestrial' unknown one
- Origin of a word — time to stop money flow
- Origin of the word 'money' evolved over time
- Counterfeit money buying time for radical
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "original word" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case original word = etymon.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does ETYMON mean?
ETYMON noun- The source word, or words, of a given word or expression.