I looked up the etymology...

[Silverobama]

I was chatting in English with my student. We were talking about the word ambergris because he was doing a paper exercise about it. I then looked up the word on etymology.com and I found something interesting about it. I wrote:

I looked up the etymology of the English word "ambergris" and surprisingly found that it was the secretions from sperm whales.

Is my sentence natural?

 

[tedmc]

There is no need to use the word "etymology", which is about the origin of words and how they evolve. I would say I look up the meaning of the word.
What is "paper exercise"?

 

[Silverobama]

There is no need to use the word "entymology", which is about the origin of words and how they evolve. I would say I look up the meaning of the word.
What is "paper exercise"?

Exercise printed in papers for students to do.

 

[emsr2d2]

I was chatting in English with one of my students. We were talking about the word ambergris because he was doing a paper an English exercise about it. I then looked up the word on etymology.com and, along with the etymology, I found something the very interesting about it definition. I wrote:

I looked up the etymology of the English word "ambergris" and, along with giving the origin of the word, surprisingly it told me found that it was is the secretions from sperm whales.

Is my sentence natural?

See above. As tedmc pointed out, you need to make sure you're differentiating between etymology (origin) and definition (meaning).

 

[Silverobama]

See above. As tedmc pointed out, you need to make sure you're differentiating between etymology (origin) and definition (meaning).

Much appreciated! I want to say that I looked up the "origin" (how it became a word and where it was from).

Could you please help me with some questions about this sentence?

I looked up the etymology of the English word "ambergris" and, along with giving the origin of the word, it told me that it is the secretions from sperm whales.

a) Is the "giving" optional here?
b) Why is "told me" correct here? I asked because each time I look up the origin of the word, it tells me the same thing.
c) Why is "it is" correct here instead of "they are" because the latter part is in plural?

 

[emsr2d2]

Etymology of "ambergris": ambre gris (grey amber, Old French) ... ambergris (late middle English)
Definition of "ambergris": a waxy substance that originates as a secretion in the intestines of whales.

Whilst some etymology sites might give the definition as well, the two things are completely distinct.

a. I started without "giving" but when I continued the sentence, it sounded better with it.
b. I don't understand your question. If a book/site "tells you" something, it just means it contains information.
c. "ambergris" itself is singular so "it is" is appropriate.

 

[Silverobama]

Much appreciated.

b. I don't understand your question. If a book/site "tells you" something, it just means it contains information.

My question should have been:

Why did you use “it told me” instead of “it tells me” here in the sentence?

 

[emsr2d2]

My question should have been:

Why did you use “it told me” instead of “it tells me” here in the sentence?

I could have used either but since, at the time of writing, it was in the past, I chose "it told me".