The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word HistoriesMerriam-Webster, 1991 - 526 pages A gold mine of fascinating word histories! This engaging and informative book reveals the origins of 1,500 words from "abigail" to "zombie", tracing in terms from the mythology of ancient Greece to the comic strips of the 20th century. This delightful volume will help you discover how a skimpy bathing suit came to be called a "bikini" and what "serendipity" has to do with Horace Walpole. |
From inside the book
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Page vii
... similar- ities between forms like English father , German vater , Latin pater , Greek patēr , and Sanskrit pitṛ , all of which have the same meaning , are not likely to be the result of accident . We account for resemblances like these ...
... similar- ities between forms like English father , German vater , Latin pater , Greek patēr , and Sanskrit pitṛ , all of which have the same meaning , are not likely to be the result of accident . We account for resemblances like these ...
Page x
... similar entries . Whether borrowed or created , a word generally begins its life in English with one meaning . Yet no living language is static , and in time words de- velop new meanings and lose old ones . There are several directions ...
... similar entries . Whether borrowed or created , a word generally begins its life in English with one meaning . Yet no living language is static , and in time words de- velop new meanings and lose old ones . There are several directions ...
Page 11
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Page 15
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Page 24
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Common terms and phrases
adjective akin to Gk akin to OHG alter American ancient animal appeared applied assumed attested back-formation became began bird borrowed into English called Church cognate common compound denote developed dialect Dictionary diminutive Dutch earlier earliest early eighteenth century England English borrowed English word etymology fascism fifteenth folk etymology fourteenth century French word gave rise German glish Gmc origin Goth Greek horse influenced Italian known language Late Latin later Latin verb Latin word LIEBFRAUMILCH literally meaning meant Medieval Latin Middle English Middle French Modern English neut nineteenth century noun Old English Old French Old High German Old Norse perh person phrase plural popular prob pronunciation refer Roman semantic seventeenth century Shakespeare similar sixteenth century song sound Spanish spelling synonym teenth century term tion trans translation turn verb Vulgar Latin WGmc writing
Popular passages
Page 6 - So I took thought, and invented what I conceived to be the appropriate title of " agnostic." It came into my head as suggestively antithetic to the " gnostic " of Church history, who professed to know so much about the very things of which I was ignorant...