An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language Contributor(s): Skeat, Walter W. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0486440524 ISBN-13: 9780486440521 Publisher: Dover Publications OUR PRICE: $61.70 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: June 2005 Annotation: Practical and reliable, this reference traces English words back to their Indo-European roots. Each entry features a brief definition, identifies the language of origin, and employs a few illustrative quotations. An extensive appendix includes lists of prefixes, suffixes, Indo-European roots, homonyms and doublets, and the distribution of English-language sources. |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Reference | Dictionaries - Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - Etymology |
Dewey: 422.03 |
LCCN: 2004065665 |
Series: Dover Language Guides |
Physical Information: 2.1" H x 8.2" W x 11" (4.85 lbs) 832 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: 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. 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. |