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The Etymology Book Store

Dictionaries

General | Specialized | CD-ROM

This is the amazing work that turns a quick word look-up to an afternoon of browsing.

There are also the Guide to the Oxford English Dictionary and The Compact Oxford English Dictionary/Book, Magnifying Glass and User's Guide.

American Heritage Dictionary

Hot off the presses!  The all-new Fourth Edition of the American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language offers more information about the language, in a more accessible format, than any other dictionary in its class. And its elegant, inviting design makes it the most handsome reference book on the market. And let's not forget that it includes word origins.

Microsoft Encarta College Dictionary
Ann Soukhanov, editor

We gave it away in a drawing, but if you didn't win it you can still buy it at a great price from us.  We reviewed this dictionary in a recent issue of our e-mail newsletter.

The work of more than 250 lexicographers in 10 countries, the Encarta World English Dictionary is the first reference work that traces the global use of English in its written, spoken and electronic forms. With each word newly defined, the Encarta World English Dictionary is the most up-to-date dictionary on the market and will offer a unique perspective on English as the world's language.

The Encarta World English Dictionary has over 400,000 entries, over 20,000 new words and definitions, over 3 million words of text, over 4,000 illustrations, over 1,000 boxed cultural and regional notes, over 1,500 unique Word Stories on usage notes. 

Read this Amazon.com article on this new release, which includes words from English dialects spoken all over the world.

The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (2 Vol. Set; Thumb Indexed Edition)

Dictionary of the Future
by Faith Popcorn and Adam Hanft

Yes, this really is a dictionary, but perhaps not exactly what you might expect. On first glance, the title might suggestion a dictionary of terms from sci fi writings or television/film. If not that, "Dictionary of the Future" might bring to mind terms that are uncommon now but that will become more popular as technology continues to get better and better. Well, strangely enough, neither of those descriptions fits this book. Instead, this "dictionary" is a collection of words and phrases created or picked up by writers, journalists, media personalities, and others to humorously or effectively describe developing issues and aspects of today's Western culture.  (Read the rest of our review from a recent newsletter.)

From "Abelard and Heloise" to "Zuzu's Petals", this book provides the history, meaning, and context for many of the creative and colorful allusions that enrich fine writing. For every entry I knew, I found at least a dozen that I either was misinterpreting or just glossed over in my reading.  A great book for the reference shelf [or] bedside...

Review from Amazon.com. 

The Devil's Dictionary

Ambrose Bierce's classic is available in a fine paperback edition with an introduction by Roy Morris, Jr.  There's no real etymology here, but a lot of acerbic wit from Mr. Bierce.  One of our favorites: "flag, n. A colored rag borne above troops and hoisted on forts and ships.  It appears to serve the same purpose as certain signs that one sees on vacant lots in London-'Rubbish may be shot here.'"

From the Manchester Journal Inquirer, March 15, 1999 ". . . An intriguing book that deals with the distinctive ways New Englander's have expressed themselves through the years." --Richard Tambling 

Word Parts Dictionary, Standard and Reverse Listings of Prefixes, Suffixes, Roots and Combining Forms
by Michael J. Sheehan

A handy reference book which also includes information and categorization that normal reference books do not provide.  We reviewed this book in the March 13, 2001 newsletter.

Word Stems: A Dictionary

This is an invaluable resource -- it first lists 68 pages of stems within example words, and then it provides meanings for the stems in a dictionary format.

Andrew Dalby's "Dictionary of Languages" is an essential ready reference for anyone interested in the languages of the world. Dalby, honorary librarian at the Institute of Linguistics and a regular contributor to the journal The Linguist, has done a marvelous job of collecting information on over 400 languages into one volume. Though rather light on hard linguistic information, the dictionary does cover the history and social background of each language, and is one of the few reference works on languages that gives equal time to more obscure ones, such as Maba (spoken in Chad) and Sorbian (spoken in Germany). The perfect book for quick information or for an afternoon of pleasant browsing.

Oxford English Dictionary on CD-ROM,  Version 3.1

TEN PERCENT OFF if you order from Intelligent Entertainment (through Amazon.com) by clicking the link above.  Tell them you purchased it through Take Our Word For It.  Intelligent Entertainment has agreed to offer TOWFI readers a 10% discount!

Need we say more?  This is the best source of etymology on a large scale, not to mention history of usage, variant spellings, and more.  This version of the dictionary is searchable.

NOTE: there are hardware requirements, and the dictionary must be run from the CD.  It's a bit slow starting up, but once it gets going, you'll fly through it.

There are also the Guide to the Oxford English Dictionary and The Compact Oxford English Dictionary/Book, Magnifying Glass and User's Guide.

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Deluxe Audio Edition (on CD-ROM)

Now you can hear definitive pronunciations from "America's Voice of Authority". This is the ideal computerized reference for students, educators, professionals, and word-tamers--anyone who works with words or who just loves them. Includes the complete text of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus and more than 1,000 color illustrations on CD-ROM. "In this compelling computerized version of the venerated dictionary, a user has a wonderful writing productivity tool . . . "--The Washington Post.