Etymology is the study of the history of the origins and development of words and their meaning. So, although we are able to create new and innovative sentences, it also suggests that our language is inherited from our culture and history. E.g. the two-name system for classifying plants so they could be identified, developed by Carl Linnaeus (1797-1778). The system uses Latin, and the genus is listed first, followed by the species. So, a maple tree in Latin is called 'Acer' and then, because there are so many types of Acer, the second word gives a more specific identification, such as Acer rubrum, which is a red maple. (Van de Lagemaat et al.)