The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European RootsJHU Press, 2001 M07 1 - 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. |
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... became the official language of the country, in church (with Latin), in royal court, and in law court. For some three hundred fifty years Anglo-Saxon and Norman French competed, and gradually merged, until Chaucer's poems and Caxton's ...
... became the official language of the country, in church (with Latin), in royal court, and in law court. For some three hundred fifty years Anglo-Saxon and Norman French competed, and gradually merged, until Chaucer's poems and Caxton's ...
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... became able to postulate with considerable confidence a large number of the Indo-European roots from which current words proliferated. In some instances, the primal root is but slightly changed in the modern variations. Mama, perhaps ...
... became able to postulate with considerable confidence a large number of the Indo-European roots from which current words proliferated. In some instances, the primal root is but slightly changed in the modern variations. Mama, perhaps ...
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... became Portuguese alcatraz, which we retain as the name of an island prison; but the color of the bird (Latin alba, white) led the way to English albatross. The greater number of our English words, however, can be traced through various ...
... became Portuguese alcatraz, which we retain as the name of an island prison; but the color of the bird (Latin alba, white) led the way to English albatross. The greater number of our English words, however, can be traced through various ...
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... became English knave, with silent k. Greek u is usually turned into English y, as gune, woman, gives us gynecology. The Oxford English Dictionary lists hubristic as “irregular for hybristic.” Words beginning with i in Greek or Latin may ...
... became English knave, with silent k. Greek u is usually turned into English y, as gune, woman, gives us gynecology. The Oxford English Dictionary lists hubristic as “irregular for hybristic.” Words beginning with i in Greek or Latin may ...
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... became Anglo-Saxon plum before it came again into the language as prune. Agatha Christie, in Elephants Can Remember, speaks of twin sisters Dorothy and Margaret, “known colloquially as Dolly and Molly.” The Spanish officer coronel is ...
... became Anglo-Saxon plum before it came again into the language as prune. Agatha Christie, in Elephants Can Remember, speaks of twin sisters Dorothy and Margaret, “known colloquially as Dolly and Molly.” The Spanish officer coronel is ...
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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 associated beauty became bird body called coined color columns comes common compounds Dictionary earlier early earth element ending England English especially figuratively folkchanged four French frequent genus gives Greek hand head hence hold horse human imitative Italy John King known land language later Latin leaves letters light lists literally live Lord mark meaning meant mind nature never Note one’s originally perhaps person pictured plant play Possibly prefix probably referred Roman root says sense Shakespeare shape short shortened song sound speaks stand star suggested term things translation tree turn usually whence woman words beginning wrote young