ISO (in search of): ENGLISH ETYMOLOGY DICTIONARY

Creative Cowboy

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Primarily, I am asking you to pay attention to any recommendations you have with regards copyright date. The Powers That Be have been fucking with the English language for some time now and I prefer my dictionaries to be as old, or nearly as old, as I am. (I am erudite enough to let my life fill in any blank spaces an older dictionary might have.) If you want to see the concerns behind my beef, look for a video I share here: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/sho...ed-from-OP&p=10132933&viewfull=1#post10132933

Looking through Amazon, I find no English etymology dictionary for sale. [I find this deeply disturbing.] The negative comments on what there is available there tells the story of woe for anyone concerned with the English language.

I need a dictionary of English etymology that is not so concise so as to be useless when writing in a past setting, outside of Latin and Greek influences. The purpose of this book is to check my vocabulary at times when I feel I may be overreaching the language of my characters in dialogue. I will need to purchase a book that is more comprehensive than an elaborate thesaurus. Looking at what's available today, and being concerned as I am for my language, I even wonder if anyone knows what I am talking about so please, as a fellow writer, forgive any condescending vibe.

I am on the road in a foreign language-speaking country and I appreciate your help in locating what I seek.
 
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Marlys

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The Oxford English Dictionary is the best I can think of, giving etymology of every word, including earliest recorded example. I write historical fiction and find it invaluable. Check to see if your local library has access to the online version. If not, I think there are a number of options for print versions.
 

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There are a few OED versions I have seen that come to my mind. I have seen a multi-volume set, and Amazon points me to a two volume set requiring a magnifying glass to read. I'd rather have paper on my shelf as there is no Google-fixing a book after it's been printed. (Thus it is more reliable.)

By looking at your profile, I have noticed the OED is a favourite of yours. What print version do you recommend for a half-blind man?
 

Marlys

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We have the two-volume with magnifying glass, and it's fine. But although I wear glasses, I'm not half-blind, so you may want to look at a copy in person (local used bookstore?) to see if it will work for you.

One advantage to the online version, though, is that you can adjust the size to whatever is comfortable. I find it prohibitively expensive for an individual subscription, but if your library subscribes you may be able to access it from home.
 

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My local library is Polish.... that's not to say there isn't a Polish-English or even English learner's dictionary hanging about there, donated perhaps, but it's not "my" library. Whenever I went there, treating it like an office, I have had to bring my own reference books.

As always, when it comes down to "the market" and what it will bear, potential customers get left out.
 
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DrDoc

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Sometimes desirable English language books can be located in non-English, foreign bookstores. I found a first edition Origin of Species by Darwin in one. They might be worth a check.
 

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You don't want an Etymological dictionary; those are for discovering derivations and cognates.

You want an historical dictionary; the OED is the best.

There are reduced size versions of the OED; these are photographically reduced editions, where pages are photographed and reduced so that four pages fit on a single very large page.

The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (2 Volume Set)

There are three editions of this; the original two volume set, the two volume set with Supplements, and the two volume edition without a magnifying glass.

Or the newest version of the compact edition, or the current twenty volume print edition.

The other possibility is to buy the CD-ROM version of the Oxford English Dictionary.

http://public.oed.com/about/the-oed-in-print-and-on-cd-rom/buy-the-oed-on-cd-rom/

Or subscribe online for a yearly fee:

http://www.oed.com/
 
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Creative Cowboy

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Not sure this is exactly what you're looking for but I love checking out www.etymonline.com now and then.

I need something offline for my work. Thanks.
Books need to be burnt. Electronic... not so much.


I have seen both.
The first has this for a review: "We thought this would be a book about the origin of words and phrases, not a dictionary. It is called a dictionary of English ETYMOLOGY, after all. But it's more like a regular dictionary. We were a bit disappointed."

Kills my interest there.

The second is American.
That is already one-step removed from the language.