
An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language
Dover Publications · Print & ebook · June 17, 2005
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- Who it’s for
- Trace English words through their origins, transitions into usage, and links to cognate languages.
- Themes
- English word origins, History of the English language, Indo-European roots
- Genres
- Word Origins, Historical Linguistics, Dictionaries
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Start with this bookAbout this book
Comprehensive and easy to use, this resource offers numerous cross-references that allow readers to trace English words back to their Indo-European roots. By exhibiting the relationship between English and cognate tongues, it reveals the language's basis in Latin and Greek as well as prior derivations from Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic sources. Each entry begins with a brief definition and an exact statement of the term's actual (or probable) language of origin.
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An account of its transition to English usage follows, along with either a few quotations that indicate the period at which the word was adapted, or else the usual Middle-English forms. A helpful Appendix contains a glossary of prefixes, a general accounting of suffixes, a table of Indo-European roots, and vocabularies of homonyms and doublets, in addition to lists showing the distribution of the sources of English. A standard reference for many years, this volume will prove a practical resource not only to students of comparative philology and of early English, but to everyone with an interest in the origin, history, and development of the English language.
English Word Origins
Trace English words through their origins, transitions into usage, and links to cognate languages.
Come here for
- Cross-references tracing English words to Indo-European roots
- Entries on origins, shifts into English, and Middle-English forms
Expect
- Brief definitions and stated actual or probable origins
- Appendix with prefixes, suffixes, roots, homonyms, and doublets
Where it sits
| Word Origins | 90% |
|---|---|
| Dictionaries | 72% |
| Historical Linguistics | 51% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Historical Linguistics
- Word Origins
- Dictionaries
- Authors
- Walter W. Skeat
- Publisher
- Dover Publications
- Published
- June 17, 2005
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- English word origins · History of the English language · Indo-European roots
- Reading lane
- Historical Linguistics