The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European Roots
Hats off to Joseph Shipley.(William SafireNew York Times)A dictionary as invaluable to the philologist as it is a wellspring of delight for any inquisitive person.(Perihelion)A word-loving browser's delight.(Atlantic Monthly)The title promises a discursive voyage, and Shipley is as good as his word. He's a scholarly, humorous, rambling fellow, and his 636-page itinerary is filled with the excitement of chance encounters with long-lost cousins in distant lands.(Newsday)Not since the late Frank H. Vizetelly has there been an etymologist of the stature and erudition of Joseph T. Shipley, whose 26 books on various aspects of the English language are not only illuminating but a joy to read. Now, withThe Origins of English Words,Dr. Shipley has outdone himself.(West Coast Review of Books)