# Combinatory method · Concept

> Working out what words in an unknown language mean from where they occur, what they occur with and how their endings change across many texts, without…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DEECXD4TKNE/combinatory-method  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
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[Concepts](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts)Combinatory method

Concept · linguistics · in 1 mystery

# Combinatory method

Working out what words in an unknown language mean from where they occur, what they occur with and how their endings change across many texts, without comparing them to any other language.

[Etruscan: the readable language that cannot be fully translated](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/etruscan-language)[3 sources]

The combinatory method treats a corpus as its own dictionary. A word that always follows a personal name on a tomb and is followed by a number is probably "years" or "aged"; a word that appears only on vessels with a name in the genitive is probably "gift" or "belonging to". Each guess is checked against every other place the word occurs and against short bilinguals and glosses by ancient writers. It is the opposite of the etymological method, which matches words to look-alikes in a known language. For Etruscan the combinatory method, systematised by Massimo Pallottino and the Italian school in the twentieth century, has produced every meaning now accepted, including the numerals, kinship words and magistracies, while the etymological method has produced none that survived [@bonfante2002etruscan] [@wallace2008zikh]. Its weakness is speed and reach: it works best on repetitive formulae and does little for words that occur once.

## Where it comes up

**[Etruscan: the readable language that cannot be fully translated](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/etruscan-language)**

The combinatory method, applied systematically to the whole corpus, can still add secure meanings, and it is the only internal method that has ever produced accepted results.

[Q: How far can the combinatory method and computational analysis extend the roughly 250 securely understood Etruscan words?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/etruscan-language/questions/QST0DEDYMXF5X5P/how-far-can-the-combinatory-method-and-computational)[The combinatory method, applied systematically to the whole corpus, can still add secure meanings, and it is the only…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/etruscan-language/answers/ANS0DEEBFT5WB66/the-combinatory-method-applied-systematically-to-the-whole)

## Sources 3

[Zikh Rasna: A Manual of the Etruscan Language and Inscriptions](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDKQRT230M/zikh-rasna-a-manual-of-the-etruscan-language-and)

SRC

[The Etruscan Language: An Introduction. Revised edition](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDM0VDSX35/the-etruscan-language-an-introduction-revised-edition)

SRC

[Testimonia Linguae Etruscae. Second edition](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDM18DWPSC/testimonia-linguae-etruscae-second-edition)

SRC

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Combinatory method [Concept CPT0DEECXD4TKNE]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/CPT0DEECXD4TKNE
```

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**CPT** 0DEECXD4TKNE

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Concept

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Linguistics

Related

[Frequency analysis](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECVZZJW77N/frequency-analysis) · [Decipherment](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW01ZWFP5/decipherment) · [Bilingual text](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW026HWD1/bilingual-text) · [Language isolate](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DEEBNN2HBN9/language-isolate)

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Related concepts

[Frequency analysis](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECVZZJW77N/frequency-analysis)[Decipherment](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW01ZWFP5/decipherment)[Bilingual text](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW026HWD1/bilingual-text)[Language isolate](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DEEBNN2HBN9/language-isolate)

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