Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of The Roots of English

The Roots of English
The Roots of English
Author: Robert Claiborne
ISBN-13: 9780812917161
ISBN-10: 0812917162
Publication Date: 7/29/1989
Pages: 335
Edition: 1st ed
Rating:
  ?

0 stars, based on 0 rating
Publisher: Crown
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

ny0ta avatar reviewed The Roots of English on + 3 more book reviews
Like Joseph T. Shipley's Origins of English Words ( LJ 6/1/84), but in briefer compass, this book gives an entertaining and enlightening glimpse into the many fascinating word histories hidden in our English vocabulary. For anyone who even wondered how "tooth" and "dentist" could be from the same source, or what "futile" has to do with "funnel," Claiborne suggests sources for learning more. An index of English words gives access to the main listing of Indo-European roots in alphabetical order, each with its descendants in English--via Greek, Latin, French, or German. Uncertain or controversial etymologies are identified as such. A book that word buffs, linguists, and language teachers will enjoy.