Webster's Dictionary of Word Origins

By Anonymous and Merriam-Webster

Book Overview

Fascinating articles, written in a witty, conversational style, describe how English words have come to us from other languages and evolved over time. Also described are words, like workaholic, which... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1892859661
• ISBN13: 9781892859662
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Federal Street Press
• Length: 526 Pages
• Weight: 2.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 5.9" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 11 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 6 to 12

Customer Reviews

Love it!

I got this book because I love learning and I had never learned about etymology so I was interested. What I found was facinating. It's odd but when you start to learn more about the words we use, how they come to be, and where they come from, you start to learn more about people in general. After a while you start looking at words in a whole new light. You start taking them apart and analizing each section and knowing that there is more to it than the meaning we use on the surface. Take the word DECIMATE. Why does it begin whith DECI which clearly means the number ten. You find out why in this book. This is a great book to start out with and you may find yourself addicted to it later on.

i like it a lot!

I have so far enjoyed shuffling through the pages of this book. I think it will be very useful and also entertaining :)

Features the histories of more than 1,500 English words

Created and published in cooperation with the Editors of Merriam-Webster, this bargain edition of Webster's New Explorer Dictonary Of Word Origins features the histories of more than 1,500 English words. Presenting its alphabetically arranged entries in a down-to-earth, conversational style, cross-referenced for easy lookup and supplemented with a brief history of the English language, Webster's New Explorer Dictonary Of Word Origins is as amusing a resource as it is useful, for students and bibliophiles alike. Especially recommended for anyone striving to enhance their English vocabulary, since the background stories behind the words make for especially interesting mnemonics and other means to keep their definitions in mind.