An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language by Walter W. Skeat

An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language

Walter W. Skeat

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

About 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 Origins90%
Dictionaries72%
Historical Linguistics51%

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