Etymology

• Altaic Etymology - Online database version of the Altaic Etymological Dictionary by S. Starostin, A. Dybo and O. Mudrak.
• American Dialect Society - A scholarly association dedicated to the study of the English language in North America.
• Businessballs.com - Etymology of Clichés, Expressions and Words Etymology - English language terms and expressions.
• A Comparative Dictionary of Indo-Aryan Languages - Online version of the indexes of R.L. Turner's 1962-1985 dictionary from the Digital Dictionaries of South Asia.
• Dave Wilton's Etymology Page - Devoted to etymology of common words and slang phrases.
• English Language Roots: The Meanings of Word Prefixes, Suffixes and Syllables - Reference chart for Greek, Latin, and other roots of the English language. Understanding such roots can help guessing the meaning of words and creating neologisms or brand names.
• Etymologic - The brain-twisting etymology game.
• Etymologically Speaking - A list of some curious word origins.
• Etymology - Word origins and links.
• European Sayings & Idiomatic Expressions - Dedicated to gathering sayings and idioms and their translation/explanation from all over Europe. User contributions welcome.
• Exploring English Words - Exploring English words that are derived from Latin and Greek sources with etymologies and vocabulary activities.
• Focusing on Words - An advanced Latin-Greek-English vocabulary source of etymologies with thematic units of roots, prefixes, and suffixes, and vocabulary quizzes.
• languagehat.com - Erudite blog on word origins and definitions, with dozens of links to dictionaries, commentaries, linguistic reference sites, and personal favorites of the author.
• MooT - The game of grammar, semantics, and etymology. Play online the game that investigates the history and meaning of English words.
• Nautical Expressions in the Vernacular - Myriad expressions in everyday English have nautical origins. This web page lists expressions and definitions mentioned by listswains, members of the Patrick O'Brian Mailing List, also known as the Gunroom.
• New Words In English - Neologisms and novel uses of words in English collected by members of the class Linguistics/English 215, Words in English: Structure, History and Use, taught by Suzanne Kemmer at Rice University.
• Online Etymology Dictionary - History and evolution of more than 30,000 words, including slang and technical terms.
• Oxford English Dictionary - Presents a word a day complete with pronunciation, spellings, etymology, quotations and date chart.
• Pandora's Word Box - Relates medical terminology to the humanities, offering a weekly overview with references to classical etymology.
• The Phrase Finder - The meanings and origins of thousands of English phrases and sayings. Also includes a discussion forum to ask a panel questions on the meaning and origin of phrases.
• Richard Lederer's Verbivore - Linguistic fun from, Richard Lederer, the best-selling author of The Word Circus and the new Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay, a helpful guide for grappling with vexing grammar questions.
• Roots of English - An etymological dictionary you can download by Prof. Eugene Cotter, Seton Hall University.
• Sayings and Everyday Expressions - Your online source for the sayings and expressions you use everyday. Search for their meaning, history and origin, find sayings, expressions, phrases, quotations, cliches, unusual words, and wordplay.
• Taiwan Teacher - A new word or phrase posted every week giving you the meaning, origin and an example of the usage of the word or phrase.
• Take Our Word for It - Weekly etymology magazine.
• What's The Meaning of This? - The origins of quirky English words and phrases like "In like Flynn" and "blackmail."
• Word and Phrase Origins - Directory. Part of the Internet Public Library. Describes books and web sites that might be helpful. Offers a hint on how to use an ordinary search engine when looking for etymology.
• The Word Detective - Words and language in a humorous vein. The online version of The Word Detective, a newspaper column answering readers' questions about words and language. Written by Evan Morris.
• Word Quests for Word Seekers - Searchable dictionary of word origins, organized in cross-referenced thematic lists by Latin and/or Greek roots. English entries are also defined.
• Word Sources - Includes a searchable database of Latin and Greek roots and affixes, a free newsletter, and links to other sites.
• Word Spy - Collection of recently coined words, existing words that have enjoyed a recent Renaissance, and older words that are now being used in new ways.
• Words with Heathen Origins in the Scriptures - An etymological study of numerous words used in churches and Scriptures that have their origin in pagan religions.
• World Wide Words - Michael Quinion writes about International English from a British viewpoint. Hundreds of pages on the history, origins, evolution and idiosyncrasies of English, with features on new words and words in the news.

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