Word Stems: A Dictionary [Paperback]

John Kennedy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1569470510 | ISBN-13: 978-1569470510 | Publication Date: July 1, 2003

A classic reference for students of the English language. Perfect for word fanatics, puzzlers, and writers. English is a hybrid of Greek, Latin, and some ten other languages. Word Stems defines and deciphers thousands of the most commonly used foreign words that form the foundation of our English words.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

English may be one of the world's premier languages, but it's a real hodgepodge of roots, thanks to the interesting vicissitudes of history, as explained in brief by John Kennedy. Fully three-fifths of the roots are Latin, and a good share come from Greek too. There are also Scandinavian roots and roots from nine or so other languages. Following the history comes the comprehensive list of word stems, from "Abb" ("father, religious leader. Syriac, abba.") to "Zym" ("ferment. Greek, zumoo."), defining and deciphering thousands of the most commonly used foreign words that form the foundation of English.

From School Library Journal

YA. This handy guide for students, wordsmiths, and language lovers includes a four-page history of the development of English from its Latin, Greek, and other roots. Two alphabetically arranged lists follow: common words with their word stems highlighted in boldface type and word stems with definitions and language roots. Although the introductory explanation mentions a listing of prefixes and suffixes, only prefixes are provided. The user-friendly format and easy readability make this a good addition to dictionary collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 297 pages
• Publisher: Soho Press (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569470510
• ISBN-13: 978-1569470510
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #699,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Insightful Tour of the English, April 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Word Stems: A Dictionary (Paperback)

Linguists call roots "segmental morphemes", but we know them as prefixes, suffixes, and elements. Kennedy's book provides a good reference regarding the roots of the 8,000 or so "standard vocabulary". The secret in making these kinds of reference books work is to provide cross references that encourage the reader to explore and discover gems that they weren't looking for (something akin to "surfing" the book). The format of Kennedy's book, and the clarity of its presentation masterfully achieves this objective. My only gripe with this book is that it stops at the obvious - mainly the Latin or Greek source of the root. But we know that the words and their roots go much deeper into the past, to their Proto-Indo European source. If this book had gone that far back, it would have been the indispensible standard. Still, its a very good book and strongly recommended for the wordsmith.

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of "Word Stems", March 3, 2000

By 

Dan Baer (Palo Alto, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Word Stems: A Dictionary (Paperback)

This is a useful book, especially for English teachers and really anyone interested in the etymological history of basic word roots in the English language. Sure we all know what prefixes like "anti" and "post" mean, or suffixes like "ship" or "dom," but what about common word roots like "cumb," as in "incumbent" or "succumb," or "sider," as in "consider" or "sidereal"? This book is not for everyone, but if you are interested in strengthening your vocabulary or just browsing the origins of words while taking a lengthy visit to the latrine, this is the book for you.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I use this book all the time, August 30, 2010

By 

Theresa (Lawrence, KS United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Word Stems: A Dictionary (Paperback)

I'm a high school English teacher, and I use this book all the time when doing vocabulary with my students. It's a fascinating browse, and I love sharing with them the connections between words.