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New Premium Paperback - Bookstore Quality Edition!The object of the present volume is to draw attention to some of the principles that should guide the student of etymology in general, and of English etymology particularly; in order that any one who employs an etymological dictionary may be able to do so with some degree of intelligence and to some profit. It is much easier to accomplish this at the present date than it was some ten or twenty years ago. The steady progress of the New English Dictionary furnishes us with innumerable and indisputable instances of the actual usages of English words, so that the mistakes which formerly arose from a very imperfect knowledge of their history have largely been corrected, and much that was once obscure has been made plain. Meanwhile, the great gains that have resulted from the scientific study of comparative philology as applied to the Indo-Germanic languages have been properly formulated and tabulated...
Excerpt from The Science of Etymology The object of the present volume is to draw attention to some of the principles that should guide the student of etymology in general, and of English etymology particularly; in order that any one who employs an etymological dictionary may be able to do so with some degree of intelligence and to some profit. It is much easier to accomplish this at the present date than it was some ten or twenty years ago. The steady progress of the New English Dictionary furnishes us with innumerable and indisputable instances of the actual usages of English words, so that the mistakes which formerly arose from a very imperfect knowledge of their history have largely been corrected, and much that was once obscure has been made plain. Meanwhile, the great gains that have resulted from the scientific study of comparative philology as applied to the Indo-germanic languages have been properly formulated and tabulated, to the explosion and exclusion of many hasty inferences that were both misleading and mischievous. It is now possible to introduce science where once there was little but guesswork. Such science is founded, as all science should be, upon the careful observation of the effects of well-ascertained laws, which have been laboriously evolved from the comparison of innumerable forms of words in many languages. A large number of such laws can now be positively and safely relied upon, because they rest upon the sure foundations of a careful study of phonetics. This study enables us to concern ourselves with something that is far more valuable than written forms, viz. the actual sounds which the symbols employed in various languages actually represent. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
A guide to the science and process of etymology for the layperson explains how the origins and history of hundreds of words are determined, discussing such topics as folk etymology, changes of meaning in language history, borrowed words, and the methods of etymology.
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This practical introduction to word history investigates every aspect of where words come from and how they change. Philip Durkin, chief etymologist of the Oxford English Dictionary, shows how different types of evidence can shed light on the myriad ways in which words change in form and meaning. He considers how such changes can be part of wider linguistic processes, or be influenced by a complex mixture of social and cultural factors. He illustrates every point with a wide range of fascinating examples. Dr Durkin investigates folk etymology and other changes which words undergo in everyday use. He shows how language families are established, how words in different languages can have a common ancester, and the ways in which the latter can be distinguished from words introduced through language contact. He examines the etymologies of the names of people and places. His focus is on English but he draws many examples from languages such as French, German, and Latin which cast light on the pre-histories of English words. The Oxford Guide to Etymology is reliable, readable, instructive, and enjoyable. Everyone interested in the history of words will value this account of an endlessly fascinating subject.