Customer Reviews

The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European Roots

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Shipley is a scholar who wrote a study of Tolkien's language; his "discursive dictionary" shows the same mix of scholarship and fun. The book itself is organized by Indo-European roots. Shipley does not, however, expect you to know the IE root of an English word off the top of your head - he does provide an English to root index.

Tidbits of information come from an amazingly broad range of topics. For example, speaking of the root plumbum (lead) he mentions that it may come via Iberia because lead was mined in Spain as early as 2000 BC. In the entry on men (for math etc.) we get a quote from Dryden on Bacchus. In short, you get the information you need (the etmology and history of a word) along with fun tidbits.

The only complaint is that the dictionary is too fun ... looking up a word will always turn into an hour long browsing for enjoyment.

Among the 5,000 books in my library, 50 or 60 of them being dictionaries, this is one of the most erudite and entertaining -- a rare combination. The author's knowledge of literature and language is quite remarkable. Apart from being an invaluable serious reference work it is also a wonderful tome for reading in bed (and it's not too heavy!) It is somewhat too complex, too "deep", to buy as a birthday present for an Auntie or Uncle with everyday interests, but it would make a wonderful present for a gifted young nephew or niece who loves to explore and learn about the wondrous riches of our linguistic and literary heritage

Although nothing will replace my 20-volume OED as the ultimate reference work for etymological questions, this book comes very close. In one handy volume, it's possible to find lots of language cognates across the Indo-European family and get a real feel for how language can evolve over time and across cultures. Not for everyone but a treasure for word lovers.

This is just the book I've been looking for. I am interested in the Sanksrit origins of words from a metaphysical point of view, and this is the book I've been looking for. It was suggested to me by the Amazon search network as I hunted around. Highly recommended to anyone interested in sounds, meanings and metaphysics. A book obviously compiled by a master, very very usable (compared to traipsing through columns and columns in the OED, and even then, not finding the root of a word because of sound transformations).

I am a college junior, and I have found no book more helpful in my studies than this one. It is a great reference work that can be used for so many topics and in so many contexts. It is a necessity in my reference collection. The etymlogies of so many roots and words are throroughly explained, and done so with amazing clarity.

Word Ninja

Full of interesting information, history, and insights into why and how we speak and write as we do. Excellent reference.

I mean with my title to poke a little fun, in my exasperation, at another review, which is entitled, "Erudite and entertaining."

That other review is typical of the rapturous reviews here. Although there is only a small number of reviews, their unanimous enthusiasm for this book gives me great pause in my impulse to be critical. I am sure that the other reviewers know what they are talking about. I do not doubt that they are -- each and every one -- much more "erudite" themselves than I am. So put me down as a "common reader." For this common reader, Professor Shipley's book is terse and cryptic, although it is certainly true that there are many intriguing facts.

Dictionaries, of course, can be "terse and cryptic," a stylistic artifact of the old, hardcopy limitations that no longer apply in the digital world. By comparison to some of these old dictionaries that are absolutely chock-a-block full of abbreviations, I suppose this work might seem positively chatty. But, from my perspective, the word "discursive" in the subtitle is a stretch. I was expecting something like a BBC featurette wittily tracing the origins and relating the fascinating history of words.

I have spent no more than an hour with this book, which is not a great investment. But I expected to fall into it like a Dickens novel. It does not draw me in; it is not "friendly"; it is a struggle. God does he love colons! Tedious in that way.

Probably none of this is a barrier to those who have spent a lot of time looking into etymologies. Intelligent sounding people would not love it so much if it were not worthy. But I am finding it more of a struggle than I expected; it may end up just gathering dust on my shelves.

This book is a must own if you have international friends or live in a multi lingual house hold. I satisfy both criteria and at dinner's we will always talk etymology and meanings. The internet has nothing on the Red Book, as I call it. I invariably pop it out to settle a linguistic dispute. Very entertaining. I keep it in the kitchen with the cookbooks.

a very good foreword, the book of a master in ethimology, the work of a plenty life studyng words origin, a master piece