Word Origins ... and How We Know Them Etymology for Everyone

by Liberman, Anatoly

• ISBN13: 9780195161472
• ISBN10: 0195161475
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-03-24
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

"Millions of people want to know the origin of the words they use. Word columns in daily newspapers and numerous books attempt to satisfy their curiosity. Word histories are usually digested like pills: the user is interested in getting well, not in the chemistry of the prescribed medication. Those who send letters to the Editor also want a straight answer without bothering about how "editors" come by their knowledge. Therefore, they fail to realize that etymologies are seldom definitive and that the science of etymology is intensely interesting. Perhaps if someone explained to them that, compared to the drama of words, Hamlet is a light farce, they might develop a more informed attitude toward philological research and become students of historical linguistics rather than gullible consumers of journalists' pap."--Anatoly Liberman Word Origins is the only guide to the science and process of etymology for the layperson. This funny, charming, and conversational book not only tells the known origins of hundreds of words, but also shows how their origins were determined. Liberman, an internationally acclaimed etymologist, takes the reader by the hand and explains the many ways that English words can be made, and the many ways in which etymologists try to unearth the origins of words. Part history, part how-to, and completely entertaining, Word Origins invites readers behind the scenes to watch an etymologist at work.

Author Biography

Anatoly Liberman is Professor of the Humanities at the University of Minnesota. For the past seventeen years, he has been working on a new etymological dictionary of English. He lives in Minneapolis.

Table of Contents

in which the author introduces himself, assumes a confidential tone, and suggests that etymology and entomology are different sciences, or
The Object of Etymology	1	(6)
in which another important distinction, this time between words and things, is made, or
The Thing and the Sign	7	(8)
which descends from philosophical heights to cooing doves and mooing cows and explains in passing that sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander and that boys will be boys, or
Sound Imitative Words	15	(13)
which makes sense because it is sound. Mooing cows and cooing doves give way to sleazy politicians, but they unite later to produce a coherent theory of word formation, or
Sound Symbolism	28	(16)
in which people take the cause of word origins in hand, or
Folk Etymology	44	(10)
in which words dilly-dally, shilly-shally, and play tick-tack-toe in disregard of the hubbub they produce, or
Words Based on Reduplication	54	(10)
which extols swelling from within, or
Infixation	64	(10)
which makes it clear that although swelling is good, shrinking is also good, or
Disguised Compounds	74	(13)
which proves beyond reasonable doubt that disguise and treason are everywhere, or
Suffixes, Prefixes, Misdivision, and Blends	87	(19)
which suggests that in the world of words, anonymity is the greatest reward, or
Words and Names	106	(20)
in which history pretends to raise its veil, or
Coinages by Known Individuals	126	(9)
whose main theme is the mixed blessing of globalization, or
Borrowed Words	135	(22)
in which the plot does not thicken, or
A Retrospect: The Methods of Etymology	157	(10)
in which etymology becomes a science, rejoices, and then has second thoughts, or
Sound Laws	167	(24)
in which nothing means what it says, or
Change of Meaning in Language History	191	(26)
in which the author meanders a little (as is his wont) but then comes to the root of the matter, or
The Origin of the Earliest Words and Ancient Roots	217	(19)
in which the author surveys the scene and treads the downward slope, or
The State of English Etymology	236	(14)
in which the author, having reaped the word wind, comes full circle and takes farewell of his readers in the hope of meeting them again, or
Conclusion	250	(3)
Notes	253	(42)
Index of English Words	295	(9)
Name Index	304	(6)
Subject Index	310