The Roots of English: A Reader's Handbook of Word OriginsLike Joseph T. Shipley's Origins of English Words ( LJ 6/1/84), but in briefer compass, this book gives an entertaining and enlightening glimpse into the many fascinating word histories hidden in our English vocabulary. For anyone who even wondered how``tooth'' and ``dentist'' could be from the same source, or what ``futile'' has to do with ``funnel,'' Claiborne suggests sources for learning more. An index of English words gives access to the main listing of Indo-European roots in alphabetical order, each with its descendants in English--via Greek, Latin, French, or German. Uncertain or controversial etymologies are identified as such. A book that word buffs, linguists, and language teachers will enjoy.-- Catherine V. von Schon, SUNY at Stony Brook -Library Journal. |
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The Roots of English: A Reader's Handbook of Word Origins Robert Claiborne No preview available - 1989 |
Common terms and phrases
A)PO animal begot bend BHAGO BHEIDH BHERGH-2 BHEU borrowed comes Compounds DEIK DEIW DEKM DEM(h derivatives DEUK DHE(I Dictionary English words Etruscan figurative French Gaulish Gc descendants GEN(h GERBH Germanic GHABH GHANS GHE(N)D GHEU GHREDH Gk word Greek GWERh-2 hence hold idiomatic Indo-European Indo-European roots intricate KERD KERS KLEI KLOU KREI L word language later Latin LEUK literally meant MEDHYO MEUh modern sense nally NEWO NO-MEN Norse noun OEtD OI-NO Old Norse one's oneself originally PEKW PENKWE person PET(h PLEK PLEU possible relative Proto-Germanic remote Roman S)KEP S)KER S)MEIT(h S)PEN S)TEU Sanskrit shining SKEI SKRIBH SNER someone sometimes sound speak SPEK split STEIG stick TEU(h things tongue TRAGH TREI turn twist UPER various verb Vulgar Latin WEGH WEGW WEID WEKW whence GC whence L whence the GC YEUG