The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European Roots - Softcover

Shipley, Prof Joseph Twadell

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801867843 ISBN 13: 9780801867842

Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review

"Hats off to Joseph Shipley."

(William Safire New York Times)

"A dictionary as invaluable to the philologist as it is a wellspring of delight for any inquisitive person."

(Perihelion)

"A word-loving browser's delight."

(Atlantic Monthly)

"The title promises a discursive voyage, and Shipley is as good as his word. He's a scholarly, humorous, rambling fellow, and his 636-page itinerary is filled with the excitement of chance encounters with long-lost cousins in distant lands."

(Newsday)

"Not since the late Frank H. Vizetelly has there been an etymologist of the stature and erudition of Joseph T. Shipley, whose 26 books on various aspects of the English language are not only illuminating but a joy to read. Now, with The Origins of English Words, Dr. Shipley has outdone himself."

(West Coast Review of Books)

Synopsis

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 this work, Shipley catalogues these proposed roots and follows the process by which some of their offshoots have grown. Anecdotal, eclectic and enthusiastic, the book offers a diverting expedition beyond linguistics into literature, history, folklore, anthropology, philosophy and science.

Edition details

• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0801867843
• ISBN 13: 9780801867842
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 672