Language and culture have influenced each other. They cannot be separated as isolated one. Culture finds a better representation through language use. Language is an indispensible carrier of culture. Many words have their origins in religion, mythology stories and literary works. Looking at English vocabulary from an etymological perspective is a good way to go in teaching college English vocabulary. This paper gives a brief introduction about the characteristics of English vocabulary and some advantages of teaching vocabulary from an etymological perspective, also, suggestions in using etymological perspective to teach college English vocabulary.