The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European RootsJHU Press, 2001 - 672 pages There 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. |
From inside the book
Page xiii
... prefix , con- may mean against , as in contradict , control . But in the great majority of its occurrences the prefix con- is a shift , for easier sounding , of com- , together . Com- remains before b , m , and p ; it changes before c ...
... prefix , con- may mean against , as in contradict , control . But in the great majority of its occurrences the prefix con- is a shift , for easier sounding , of com- , together . Com- remains before b , m , and p ; it changes before c ...
Page xxii
... prefix , however , ant may come from either ante , before ( anticipate , antediluvian ) or anti , against ( antagonist , antimacassar : protection on chair against hair oil , which in Victorian days was imported from Macassar , a port ...
... prefix , however , ant may come from either ante , before ( anticipate , antediluvian ) or anti , against ( antagonist , antimacassar : protection on chair against hair oil , which in Victorian days was imported from Macassar , a port ...
Page xxix
... prefixes , suffixes , and midfixes from the basic stems , scholars have been able to follow seemingly quite different words back to a single root . The most frequent of these forms and transformations are presented here with their ...
... prefixes , suffixes , and midfixes from the basic stems , scholars have been able to follow seemingly quite different words back to a single root . The most frequent of these forms and transformations are presented here with their ...
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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
References to this book
Shamanism: The Neural Ecology of Consciousness and Healing Michael Winkelman No preview available - 2000 |
The Mystery to a Solution: Poe, Borges, and the Analytic Detective Story John T. Irwin Limited preview - 1996 |