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
Results 6-10 of 94
Page xvi
... Latin , or Greek , it may lack ana- logues in Celtic , say , and Sanskrit , and thus not permit the extraction of a com- mon root . The various additions to our Indo - European heritage from later or alien sources , however , have not ...
... Latin , or Greek , it may lack ana- logues in Celtic , say , and Sanskrit , and thus not permit the extraction of a com- mon root . The various additions to our Indo - European heritage from later or alien sources , however , have not ...
Page xviii
... Latin gave English pluvial and plutocracy ; from Germanic flug came flow , flee , flight . The k to kh sound shift appears in Spanish caballo , French cheval , English cavalry and chivalry . ( The two foreign words also show the b.v ...
... Latin gave English pluvial and plutocracy ; from Germanic flug came flow , flee , flight . The k to kh sound shift appears in Spanish caballo , French cheval , English cavalry and chivalry . ( The two foreign words also show the b.v ...
Page xix
... Latin may have e ; as cosmogony , ingenuity . Here , too , the vowel may be dropped ; hence gn , agnostic ; Germanic kn , know . And the changes continue ; that first consonant , becoming silent , may also be dropped , as early Latin ...
... Latin may have e ; as cosmogony , ingenuity . Here , too , the vowel may be dropped ; hence gn , agnostic ; Germanic kn , know . And the changes continue ; that first consonant , becoming silent , may also be dropped , as early Latin ...
Page xx
... Latin prunum became Anglo - Saxon plum be- fore 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 ...
... Latin prunum became Anglo - Saxon plum be- fore 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 ...
Page xxii
... Latin si - st , to English assist , exist , and more . Verbal Forms Words may come into English from various parts of a verb . Latin sto , stare , to stand , present participle stans , stantem , past participle status ( taken directly ...
... Latin si - st , to English assist , exist , and more . Verbal Forms Words may come into English from various parts of a verb . Latin sto , stare , to stand , present participle stans , stantem , past participle status ( taken directly ...
Other editions - View all
The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European Roots Joseph Twadell Shipley No preview available - 2001 |
Common terms and phrases
ambhi bhag bhel bher bhes bheu bhili bhreg called caput coined columns compounds deik dekm dheigh N dheigh N 13 dhel dheu eghs element ending English folk etymology folkchanged French genus gerbh ghdhem gher goddess Greek guei guel hence ieug imitative jing kapr kel VIII King kleu ksei ksun kuei kuetuer labh Latin leguh leuk literally Love's Labor's Lost meaning medhi morui nebh nekut neuos oino onomen pilo plek pleu prefix relevant words beginning Roman root sek II seku Shakespeare skeu slang smer sner song sound spek sphei ster steu suer suffix tag II tereq teue tragh uegh ueid ueik ueks uelu uer II uerg uiro W. S. Gilbert whence
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 - 1994 |