A concise etymological dictionary of the English language
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| A concise etymological dictionary of the English language |
A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language ' was first published in 1882, and, after passing through several editions, appeared in 190 1 in a new form, so largely re-arranged and re-written as to become, practically, a new book.
The edition of 1901 has now been again revised, and numerous corrections have been made, chiefly due to the new light which has been thrown upon some words by the advance of the publication of the New English Dictionary, and by the appearance of new works upon etymology. Among the latter, I may especially instance the Laleinisches Etymologisches Worterbuch by Dr Alois Walde, published at Heidelberg in 1906.
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Example
The first edition of my ' Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language' was published in 1882, and it has since passed through several editions.
Each successive edition contained several corrections and additions so that the work might be, to some extent, brought up to date. Meanwhile, numerous and important contributions have been made, by many writers, to the study of Indo-Germanic philology; more exact methods of analysing phonetic changes have been adopted, and important advances have been made at many points. Such works as Kluge's Etymological Dictionary of German, Franck's Etymological Dictionary of Dutch, Godefroy's Dictionary of Old French, the Modern French Dictionary by Hatzfeld and Darmesteter, in addition to other highly important books such as the Comparative Grammar of the Indo-germanic languages by Brugmann, have all contributed to a much clearer and more exact view of the science of comparative philology.
Hence the time has come when partial emendations of my Concise Dictionary, however diligently made, have (as I fear) failed to keep pace with the requirements of the present day.; and I have accordingly rewritten the book from beginning to end, making improvements in nearly every article, whilst at the same time introducing into the body of the work words which have hitherto necessarily been relegated to a continually increasing Supplement. The result is less a new edition than a new book.
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