Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English [Hardcover]

Eric Partridge (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0517414252 | ISBN-13: 978-0517414255 | Publication Date: November 27, 1988

This etymological dictionary gives the origins of some 20,000 items from the modern English vocabulary, discussing them in groups that make clear the connections between words derived by a variety of routes from originally common stock.

As well as giving the answers to questions about the derivation of individual words, it is a fascinating book to browse through, and includes extensive lists of prefixes, suffixes, and elements used in the creation of new vocabulary.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 972 pages
• Publisher: Random House Value Publishing (November 27, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517414252
• ISBN-13: 978-0517414255
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #259,910 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the best, October 30, 1999

By 

Sean Burke (Ketchikan, Alaska, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English (Hardcover)

If you have any interest at all in English etymology, you MUST HAVE THIS BOOK. Beg, borrow, bid, phone every used bookstore you can find -- do anything to get a copy of this book. This book is so good that when I came across a copy of it and skimmed it, all I could do was look back with new regret at the years I'd spent using other works I could now recognize as inferior.

This is simply the best book on English etymology I've ever seen -- beats the earlier etymological dictionaries by Skeats and Weekley hands down, and of course is superior to any normal dictionary's treatment of etymologies (OED, Merriam-Webster, etc.).

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be reprinted if not improved!, February 3, 2005

By 

P. De Fridman (Venezuela) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English (Hardcover)

Over thirty years ago I begun developing the habit of consulting etymological dictionaries whenever I wanted to deepen my understanding of words. I equipped myself with several etymological dictionaries in each of the three languages I use: spanish, french and english (which share many words). Over the years and independently of the language that triggered a given search, I found myself increasingly going FIRST to Partridge's ORIGINS (acquired in 1977) and often feeling no need of consulting another dictionary.
Quite a number of years comparing etymological dictionaries! Hence I agree, it should at least be reprinted or, hopefully, edited anew after improvement by a team of experts knowledgeable of more recent research in the field.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must have" book, November 16, 2002

By 

William G. Rhines (Wells, Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English (Hardcover)

If you love the English language and are truly very curious about the meanings of its words as reflected in the evolution of its origins and meanings, this is a "must have" book. I have used the 1966 issue of it for years now, and rate it more useful, although a companion book, to the seminal work of Walter Skeat. No library can realistically be said to be complete,nor can any lover of the English language, without both of these works.