Elsevier's Concise Spanish Etymological Dictionary [Hardcover]

Guido Gomez De Silva (Author), G. Gomez de Silva (Author), G. Gó Mez De Silva (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1985 | ISBN-10: 0444424407 | ISBN-13: 978-0444424402

The main purpose of this etymological dictionary is to trace each Spanish word as far back as possible in order to acquaint the reader with the history of the evolution of the Spanish language; another of its aims is to help students learn vocabulary, e.g., the English word 'sky' does not help English speaking persons learn the Spanish work 'cielo' but the English word 'celestial' does. Etymology is the history of words, and, as words stand for things, it is also the history of things, and therefore of civilisation. The words analyzed in this dictionary cover every area of human endeavor, including science and technology; in addition to words, the book contains certain phrases, and many affixes. Although some Spanish words are not of Indo-European origin, most of them are. In view of the proportion of words with similar etymologies in certain languages, this Spanish etymological dictionary can also be used to find the origin of thousands of English, French, Italian and Portuguese words as well as that of many words from other languages. Many Indo-European roots are represented in Spanish words and therefore this dictionary forms a complete picture of Indo-European etymology. This etymological dictionary is of great value to all those working with, or interested in, the Spanish language. As a reference work, it should be on the shelves of school, university and general public libraries as well as other appropriate reference libraries. It is of particular value to students and teachers of Spanish and to translators and conference interpreters.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This work, explaining in English the etymology of Spanish terms, is one to dip into time and time again...The fascination of the work is endless.
Language Monthly
Gómez de Silva has admirably fulfilled his objectives... College and university libraries will want to add this excellent and unique reference work to their collection.
American Reference Books Annual
Gómez traces his material as far back as possible, even to Indo-European, and regularly indicates word-families whose members can be shown to be ultimately connected. He includes a very large number of proper names, both personal and geographical, affixes, both inflectional and derivational, and frequently adds information of an historical or cultural nature.... The work is meticulously well organized, full of interesting information, and highly readable .... Gómez has produced a serious and scholarly work, far superior to many of the etymological dictionaries that appear from time to time...... interesting and easy to read.
The Modern Language Journal

Language Notes

Text: English, Spanish

Product Details

• Hardcover: 572 pages
• Publisher: Elsevier Science (August 1, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0444424407
• ISBN-13: 978-0444424402
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,550,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good book in any language, but get the cheaper one, September 10, 2002

By 

Ingenioso Hidalgo (Chicago, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elsevier's Concise Spanish Etymological Dictionary (Hardcover)

A very good work...but (expensive)!!! I have recently purchased the Spanish edition of this work and agree with all the reviews I've seen thus far. Of particular interest is its breadth of information.

Though I have yet to make a side-by-side comparison of it with Joan Corominas's "Breve diccionario etimológico," Mr. Gomez De Silva's work may be a little more satisfying for the lay person. Unlike Corominas's work, this dictionary offers a brief definition of an entry before going on to its development. I much prefer the Spanish definitions over the English ones I've seen on the sample pages here. The detail paid to prefixes and suffixes is quite good. His inclusion of names only adds to the reasons why someone might pick up this dictionary as an interesting read as well as a valuable reference.

If reading Spanish is not an issue, pick up the Spanish version and save a considerable amount of money over the English one.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lucky find, March 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Elsevier's Concise Spanish Etymological Dictionary (Hardcover)

This one-volume etymology dictionary of Spanish is an indispensable addition to any linguistic or Spanish-studies library. For its purposes, it serves well: it includes Indo-European roots where applicable, as well as a wealth of Spanish proper names and country/place names. If you can afford it, this is a good buy.