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 xiv
Aphrodite gives us such English words as aphrodisiac . ... Psyche ( breath , soul ) was briefly the mate of the child - god ( not of love , as is commonly said , but of desire ) Greek Eros ( Roman Cupid ) : these names give us material ...
Aphrodite gives us such English words as aphrodisiac . ... Psyche ( breath , soul ) was briefly the mate of the child - god ( not of love , as is commonly said , but of desire ) Greek Eros ( Roman Cupid ) : these names give us material ...
Page xv
Greek phobos means dread , but fear gives birth to hatred . There are too many phobias , but the phil words also abound . Philanthropy , love of man . Philadelphia , ( city of ) brotherly love . Philip , lover of horses ( hippopotamus ...
Greek phobos means dread , but fear gives birth to hatred . There are too many phobias , but the phil words also abound . Philanthropy , love of man . Philadelphia , ( city of ) brotherly love . Philip , lover of horses ( hippopotamus ...
Page xviii
Also , in Germanic , the k or kh sound may become h : the root kam - er ( meaning vault , vaulted room ) gives us camera - camera obscura : dark room - and comrade , who shared a room ; but also , via Low Ger- man heben , gives us the ...
Also , in Germanic , the k or kh sound may become h : the root kam - er ( meaning vault , vaulted room ) gives us camera - camera obscura : dark room - and comrade , who shared a room ; but also , via Low Ger- man heben , gives us the ...
Page xix
Thus the root bhel , which gives English bellows , drops the vowel to form the English bladder . Where Greek has o , Latin may have e ; as cosmogony , ingenuity . Here , too , the vowel may be dropped ; hence gn , agnostic ; Germanic ...
Thus the root bhel , which gives English bellows , drops the vowel to form the English bladder . Where Greek has o , Latin may have e ; as cosmogony , ingenuity . Here , too , the vowel may be dropped ; hence gn , agnostic ; Germanic ...
Page xx
Ancient Greek polis , city , gives us Constantinople , the metropolis ( mother city ) and the politics in which we are , willy - nilly , involved ; in Sanskrit , city. Frequent Word Forms and Transformations XX.
Ancient Greek polis , city , gives us Constantinople , the metropolis ( mother city ) and the politics in which we are , willy - nilly , involved ; in Sanskrit , city. Frequent Word Forms and Transformations XX.
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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 |