Human Science / Language arts & disciplines / Etymology

The Greek & Latin Roots of English

by Tamara M. Green

The Greek & Latin Roots of English approaches the study of Latin and Greek thematically: vocabulary is organized into various topics, from politics to philosophy, with chapters featuring cumulative exercises...

A Thesaurus of English Word Roots

by Horace Gerald Danner

Horace G. Danner’s A Thesaurus of English Word Roots is a compendium of the most-used word roots of the English language. All word roots are listed alphabetically, along with the Greek or Latin words from...

A Thesaurus of Medical Word Roots

by Horace Gerald Danner

Dr. Horace Gerald Danner’s A Thesaurus of Medical Word Roots is a compendium of the most-used word roots of the medical and health-care professions. All word roots are listed alphabetically, along with the...

Development of Urdu Language and Literature Under the Shadow of the British in India

by Dr. Nazir M. Gill

The main subject under discussion in this book is DEVELOPMENT OF URDU LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE BRITISH IN INDIA. The writers hope is that it will throw fresh light on the subject and facilitate...

Motherfocloir: Dispatches from a not so dead language

by Darach O'Séaghdha

A humorous investigation of the Irish language.

Words We Use

by Diarmaid Ó Muirithe

Diarmaid Ó Muirithe’s column Words We Use was a feature of The Irish Times for many years. This collection of his most memorable contributions, by turns witty and sympathetic, wears its prodigious learning...

A–Z of Irish Names for Children and Their Meanings

by Diarmaid Ó Muirithe

Including over four hundred beautiful, original and unusual Irish names, Diarmaid Ó Muirithe’s brilliant reference book provides the origin, historical and cultural background of practically every Irish name...

Can I Have a Word with You?

by Howard Richler

In his fifth book about language, Howard Richler moves from A to Z with a specifically chosen word for every letter of the alphabet. What especially intrigues him is how words come to mean what they mean, how...

Short Dictionary of Classical Word Origins

by Harry E. Wedeck

Whether one reads only newspapers or nothing more serious than a short story or a novel—whatever one reads one is constantly running up against an allusion to the Ancient Classics of Greece and Rome and, in...

Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red

by Andrew Thompson

Over 400 intriguing, entertaining, and often hilarious etymological journey

The English language is riddled with phrases that are complete nonsense. Ever met "a monkey's uncle," seen a "red-handed" thief, or...

Pietas from Vergil to Dryden

by James Garrison

For centuries the most revered poem in the Western literary canon, Vergil's Aeneid celebrates the Roman virtue of pietas. In the preface to his English translation of the poem, John Dryden attempts to explain...

Talking 'Bout Your Mama

by Elijah Wald

The Vulgar Tongue

by Jonathon Green

OK

by Allan Metcalf

Virtual Words: Language on the Edge of Science and Technology

by Jonathon Keats

The technological realm provides an unusually active laboratory not only for new ideas and products but also for the remarkable linguistic innovations that accompany and describe them. How else would words like...