The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European RootsThere are no direct records of the original Indo-European speech. By comparing the vocabularies of its various descendants, however, it is possible to reconstruct the basic Indo-European roots with considerable confidence. In The Origins of English Words, Shipley catalogues these proposed roots and follows the often devious, always fascinating, process by which some of their offshoots have grown. Anecdotal, eclectic, and always enthusiastic, The Origins of English Words is a diverting expedition beyond linguistics into literature, history, folklore, anthropology, philosophy, and science. |
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Page xvi
A bird named in Arabic al qadus ( al is Arabic for the : the famous caliph Harun al Rashid , of the Arabian Nights , is Aaron the Upright ) became Portuguese alcatraz , which we re- tain as the name of an island prison ; but the color ...
A bird named in Arabic al qadus ( al is Arabic for the : the famous caliph Harun al Rashid , of the Arabian Nights , is Aaron the Upright ) became Portuguese alcatraz , which we re- tain as the name of an island prison ; but the color ...
Page xxi
Old English bridd became our bird . Thrill was earlier thyrl . In cur- rent use are the cardinal number three and the ordinal third ( not thrid , although Gower in 1393 said that air " is eke the thridde element " : earth , water , air ...
Old English bridd became our bird . Thrill was earlier thyrl . In cur- rent use are the cardinal number three and the ordinal third ( not thrid , although Gower in 1393 said that air " is eke the thridde element " : earth , water , air ...
Page xxii
Vogel is German for bird . Latin scintilla came directly into English , giving us scintillate as well ; by metathesis it is also the source of tinsel and stencil . Reduplication A sound may , in early speech , be reduplicated , as we ...
Vogel is German for bird . Latin scintilla came directly into English , giving us scintillate as well ; by metathesis it is also the source of tinsel and stencil . Reduplication A sound may , in early speech , be reduplicated , as we ...
Page xxv
Some present the sound that they name : crash , smack , crack , smash ; buzz , hiss , click , whippoorwill ( from the bird's call ) . Others have been modified along the way from Indo - European to bring them nearer the speaker's idea ...
Some present the sound that they name : crash , smack , crack , smash ; buzz , hiss , click , whippoorwill ( from the bird's call ) . Others have been modified along the way from Indo - European to bring them nearer the speaker's idea ...
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The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European Roots Joseph Twadell Shipley No preview available - 2001 |
Common terms and phrases
ancient animal applied bhel bird called caput coined columns comes compounds dheigh dheigh N dheu earlier early earth element ending England English especially figuratively four French frequent genus gher gives Greek hand head hence horse human imitative Italy John King kleu known Latin letters lists literally live Lord meaning meant nebh Note one's onomen originally perhaps person plant play plek Possibly prefix probably Roman root says sense Shakespeare shape song sound speaks stand ster suer term things tree turn ueid usually whence woman words beginning
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European Roots |
| Author | Joseph Twadell Shipley |
| Edition | reprint |
| Publisher | JHU Press, 2001 |
| ISBN | 0801867843, 9780801867842 |
| Length | 672 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |