A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. T HE present work is not a mere abridgement of my larger Etymo logical Dictionary, such as might have been compiled by a diligent book-maker, but has been entirely rewritten by myself; and I have found that the experience gained by writing the larger work has been Of considerable assistance to me in making occasional slight improve ments. My object has been to produce a convenient hand-book for the use Of that increasing number of students who wish to learn the history of the English language, and who naturally desire to have anglo-saxon and Icelandic forms presented to them rightly spelt and accentuated, a point which seldom receives sufficient attention. One distinguishing feature Of this abridgement, as well as of my larger Dictionary, is that all the forms cited can actually be found in the usual books of reference, except when marked by an asterisk, in which case they are theoretical.

T HE present work is not a mere abridgement of my larger Etymo logical Dictionary, such as might have been compiled by a diligent book-maker, but has been entirely rewritten by myself; and I have found that the experience gained by writing the larger work has been Of considerable assistance to me in making occasional slight improve ments. My object has been to produce a convenient hand-book for the use Of that increasing number of students who wish to learn the history of the English language, and who naturally desire to have anglo-saxon and Icelandic forms presented to them rightly spelt and accentuated, a point which seldom receives sufficient attention. One distinguishing feature Of this abridgement, as well as of my larger Dictionary, is that all the forms cited can actually be found in the usual books of reference, except when marked by an asterisk, in which case they are theoretical.