from: Oxford University Press, USA
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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 422.03
EAN num: 9780198611127
ISBN number: 0198611129
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 1042
Printing Date: December 31, 1966
Publishing house: Oxford University Press, USA
Sale Popularity Level: 66031
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
This comprehensive dictionary by one of our century's greatest language scholars provides a clear and brief account of the origins, history, and sense-development of more than 38,000 words.
Amazon.com Review:
Dr. C.T. Onions very first joined the staff of the Oxford English Dictionary in 1895. He worked on the OED, the Shorter OED, and then published his Shakespeare Glossary in 1911. A wonderful and learned scholar, he died in 1966 as the very first edition of The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology was going to press. Assisted by G.W.S. Friedrichsen and R.W. Burchfield, Onions created a magnificent work of erudition, with 24,000 main entries. Including their derivatives, the dictionary delves into the origins of more than 38,000 words.
For each entry, the dictionary provides the correct pronunciation, followed by a short definition, and the century and source of the word's very first recording. Then come the etymological notes. Thus one learns that 'froth' (an aggregation of small bubbles on liquid) was very first noted in the 14th century, in Sir Gawain and the Bible, that it comes from the Old Norse frooa, and was taken from there into German (fraup) and Old English (froth). Now in its fifth printing and a standard reference for scholars, Onions's opus is still the most comprehensive etymological dictionary of English ever to be published. --Stephanie Gold
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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I own different dictionaries and by far Oxford dictionary of... is on the bottom.No dictionary is perfect but when I see etymology in title I
expect etymology inside.One example--police;where I expected to see its
roots from Greek,no luck,instead dictionary gives the difference in pronunciation in parts of Great Britain.My wild guess is the authors
are not familiar with term etymology.
Rated by buyers 
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I have found this book to be only a supplement to my Webster's College Dictionary. Most of the etymology I am looking for is in my regular dictionary. I have found some slight expansions of the folk influence on words, but basically I check my dictionary first. Fortunately, I used a gift certificate so I didn't pay the full price of the book myself.
Rated by buyers 
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Great book if you want brief word history's. Isn't much different than what you can find in many online etymology databases, however, a good investment.
Rated by buyers -
We have had a copy of the Oxford Etymological Dictionary in our kitchen for past several years because over the dinner table, inevitably, one of our children asks, "where does that word come from?" We were tired of running in and out of the living room to find out. Now it has become a game -- who can come up with a probable root before whoever is looking it up finds the real answer. No, we don't home school. Our children are still young -- 12 and 9. I have occasionally caught my 12 year old just wallowing in this book, and she is normal in every other way.
Don't compromise because something seems a little difficult to access! The more you use it, the more comfortable you'll be with it. This, along with S.I. Hayakawa's Choose the Right Word, are two veritable smorgasbords for word lovers. A good atlas is a good thing to have on hand as well.
Rated by buyers -
Other reviewers claim that the Chambers Dictionary of Etymology is a better book than the Oxford Dictionary of Etymology. I must disagree. I was recently in a bookstore that had both in stock, and I was able to compare the two. Overall, I found the Chambers to be less informative than the Oxford book.
Admittedly, I did not have the time to compare a lot of entries, but the few words I did look up showed a pattern that was hard to dismiss. In all of the cases that I saw, the Oxford dictionary included much more of the history of the word and often went back to the Latin root as well as proposing possible alternate developments of the word. The Chambers dictionary, on the other hand, tended to trace a more linear path and often only went as far back as the Old English or Old French root.
While the Chambers Dictionary of Etymology is a very clear and concise work..., I feel the Oxford Dictionary of Etymology has a slight advantage in precision and depth. Perhaps (as one reviewer has stated) the Chambers has more entries overall, but I feel this has come at the price of a lack of depth of history behind each entry. The Oxford book may have less entries, but each entry contains all the information anyone would ever need.
All in all, I think both books are way ahead of their competitors, but if you want the ultimate in depth, go for the Oxford publication. If you want a good dictionary of etymology at a reasonable price, get the Chambers book.
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