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The average English speaker knows 50,000 words in contemporary use - 25 more words than there are stars in the night sky visible to the naked eye. Yet stripped down to its origins, this apparently huge vocabulary is in reality a much smaller number of words from Latin, French and the Germanic languages. It is estimated that every year, 800 neologisms are added to the English language: acronyms - 'yuppie', blended words - 'motel', and those taken from foreign languages - 'savoir-faire'. The Bloomsbury Dictionary of Word Origins provides a concise history of over 8,000 of the most commonly used words. The range of information spans from derivations as simple as 'a' and 'one' from 'an', to historical relations between words which would be obscure to all but the most lexically-minded. For instance 'vice' with its several uses in English - a wickedness, a holding tool - is derived via Old French from two separate Latin words: 'vitium' (defect, offence), and 'vitis' (vine) which gave 'viticulture'. The Bloomsbury Dictionary of Word Origins demonstrates how the diverse influences on English have given rise to some unlikely but fascinating lexical relations. 'Bishop' had no ecclesiastical origins, but was in fact derived from the Greek 'episkopos', meaning 'overseer', and shares origins with 'spy'. In strict etymological terms, a 'dairy' should employ a female kneader of bread. Laid out in an A-Z format with detailed cross references, written in a style that is both authoritative and accessible, the Bloomsbury Dictionary of Word Origins is a valuable historical guide to the English language.
I WAS IMPRESSED
| Customer Rating:   | I was so impressed with the reviews of the other owners of this book. That I have decided to buy it RIGHT NOW, SIGHT UNSEEN. I will get back to you and add comments when I have finished it, but keep in mind, while I am not a LINGUIST by profession, I have my own field of expertise which involves the hieroglyphic qualities of the alphabet, that is right, the alphabet has been proven by me to be PICTORAL. Stephen Kellogg Brooks, check me out on Amazon.
Well, now I am back, and I also love this book. It will be put in a very noticeable place on my shelf, above my computer. However, I would like to see the new version when it comes out. I am hoping that it will be upgraded to show some of my discoveries. Let's take a peek at the word SHOVEL, just to show you what I mean. SHOVEL is a part of my TOOL COLLECTION. Notice that HOLE is in this root. Notice that HOE is in this root. Notice that OVAL is in this root, although it is spelled ovel. Notice that the L is also a picture of a hoe. So, what am I saying? Well, I am saying that SHOVEL was used to invent the words OVAL, SHOVE, HOLE and HOE. I am also saying that there are numberous letters which are PICTORAL, this includes hoe (L). You might want to go to www.lulu.com/content/749397 and enjoy the show. Getting back to this great book, I think it is definitely a collector's item. |
Wonderful!
| Customer Rating: | This is a wonderful book! It is indispensable to students or anyone who reads books that have been written in the past, or for those with a curious nature.
The dictionary is in alphabetical order with stories of how each word came into the English language and has evolved over time.
For example:
Alcohol - Originally, alcohol was a powder, not a liquid. The word comes from Arabic al-kuhul, literally `the kohl'--that is, powdered antimony used as a cosmetic for darkening the eyelids. This was borrowed into English via French or Medieval Latin, and retained this `powder' meaning for some centuries (for instance, `They put between the eyelids and the eye a certain black powder made of a mineral brought from the kingdom of Fez, and called Alcohol,' George Sandys, Travels 1615). But a change was rapidly taking place: from specifically `antimony,' alcohol came to mean any substance obtained by sublimation, and hence `quintessence.' Alcohol of wine was thus the `quintessence of wine,' produced by distillation or rectification, and by the middle of the 18th century alcohol was being used on its own for the intoxicating ingredient in strong liquor. The more precise chemical definition (a compound with a hydroxyl group bound to a hydrocarbon group) developed in the 19th century.
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If the OED seems to obtuse for you...
| Customer Rating: | ...Then this is the book you want. Outside of the Oxford English Dictionary, it's the best (and least expensive) etymological reference I've come across, even better than The Oxford Dictioary of Word Histories, published by Oxford University Press.
Here's an example of a terrific entry:
PREY Prey comes via Old French prei from Latin praeda 'booty' (from which was derived the word paredari 'plunder', source of English depradation and predatory). This was a contraction of an earlier praeheda, a noun formed with the prefix prae-'before' from the same base (*hed- 'saize', source also of English get) as produced the verb praehendere 'seize'. This has been a rich source of English vocabulary, contributing through different channels such a varied assortment as prehensile, prison, and prize 'something seized in war', not to mention prefixed forms like apprehend, comprehend, comprise, impgregnable, reprehensible, reprieve, and surprise. It is also the ancestor of French prendre 'take'.
Here's the Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories entry for the same word:
PREY [Middle English] Early noun use included the sense 'plunder taken in war' (=that which is 'seized'); it comes from Old French preie, from Latin praeda 'boot'. The verb is from Old French preir, based on Latin praedari 'seize as plunder', from praeda. The verbal phrase prey upon is found from early times.
Both are complete entries, but one is obviously more complete than the other. |
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