Albanian Etymological Dictionary [Hardcover]

Vladimir E. Orel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1998

This volume is a compendium of Albanian etymology tracing thousands of modern Albanian words back to their origins. It contains detailed information on the Indo-European vocabulary preserved in Albanian as well as on numerous loanwords coming from ancient Greek, Latin, early Romance and Slavic. The ancient elements of the Albanian vocabulary are used for the reconstruction of their Proto-Albanian origin and then compared with their Indo-European parallels. The history of Indo-European words and of early loanwords in Albanian shows the history and culture of the Albanian people reflected in the etymology of the Albanian language. The book also includes a short sketch of Albanian historical phonetics and a bibliography. Every entry is documented and contains earlier etymological explanations and interpretations.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Vladimir Orel, Ph.D. (1981) in Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences, teaches historical linguistics at the Bar-Ilan University, Israel. His publications include Hamito-Semitic Etymological Dictionary (Brill, 1995) and The Language of Phrygians (Caravan Books, 1998).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 670 pages
• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9004110240
• ISBN-13: 978-9004110243
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #617,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Albanian
  • #14 in Books > History > Europe > Albania

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars very expensive, many important words missing, March 17, 2007

By 

H. Abadzi "habadzi" (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Albanian Etymological Dictionary (Hardcover)

An etymological dictionary in English and in a rather rarely used language is a treat for those who need it. Such work very much helps the learner to remember better words that on the surface make no sense by looking up their etymology. However, it disappointed me because many common words are missing, like all words that came into Albanian through Turkish. (the author refers the reader to other dictionaries!) An equally big problem is the price, $309 at amazon, but it can be bought from the UK for 'only' $146. It is unfortunate that this resource is so expensive. The other books of this author are also extremely expensive.

The only other etymological dictionary is by Gustav Meyer around 1875 (reprinted and for sale at least in Tirana bookstores). A supplementary dictionary "fjalor i gjuhes shqipe" has been published by Mehmet Elezi, ambassador to Switzerland in 2010 ([e-mail]). This is available from the Botimpex co. in Tirana, is Dr. Estref Bega: [...]