Genres

Etymology

Lists

The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr.

181 books — 41 voters

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary by Merriam-Webster

The Oxford English Dictionary by John Andrew Simpson

Hope in the Valley by Penelope Bourdillon

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary by A.S. Hornby

Dictionaries

401 books — 78 voters

Course in General Linguistics by Ferdinand de Saussure

An Introduction to Language by Victoria A. Fromkin

Best Books about Linguistics

264 books — 229 voters

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“ He wonders aloud at the origins of valentining. 'You're right,' Rachel says. 'It is a verb. Can be. And birds valentine each other, make mating calls. And usually mate in mid-February. You see?' 'But why Valentine?' asks Zach. 'Why valentining?' 'There were many Saint Valentines,' offers Tasha. 'I don't know what the link is between their martyrdom and love letters.' Zach is not very interested in the old tradition or the archaic verb. He is not bothered by the mating calls of passerines or ...more ”
― Emma Richler, Be My Wolff

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“ Etymology” is from the Greek and means the study (logia) of the “literal meaning of a word according to its origin” (etymon).... It can be a huge help in spelling. For instance, people sometimes misspell “iridescent.”... Rather than just try to memorize the spelling, if you look at the etymology—study the entrails of the word—you find that “iris, irid” is a combining form that comes from the Greek Iris, the goddess of the rainbow and the messenger of the gods.... [O]nce you know that “iridescent ...more ”
― Mary Norris, Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen

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