Best products from r/etymology

We found 22 comments on r/etymology discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 33 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.

Top comments mentioning products on r/etymology:

u/TheOldOak · 10 pointsr/etymology

Halloween is my birthday, so I've had a personal interest in knowing the answer to this and have researched it often.

In your title you are missing a step in the process of the current form of the word, Hallow-E'en. You are correct that the "n" comes from the word Evening. The contraction used is archaic now, but is commonly seen in older literary works and archaic usage. Other examples in this same light are never (ne'er), it is ('tis), it was, ('twas), etc.

The reason for the dropping of the hyphen first, and later the apostrophe, is a combination of ignorance and laziness. English language users favour simplification and employ contractions over time to two or more words into one. This is why like "dunno" from "I don't know" are easily understood and used frequently. This process has quickened with the more common use of technology and the ever-pressing need to be more efficient and faster at communicating coupled with laziness. The birth and popularization of textspeak is exactly this same phenomenon that helped evolve All Hallow's Evening into Halloween.

Additionally, within the last few decades, archaic contractions like 'Twas (It was) are seen in print without the apostrophe, like this bookcover, much more frequently. Will-of-the-wisp has evolved into many forms with or without the hyphens or the apostrophe replacing the "f" in of though "the" is entirely omitted now (will-o'-wisp, will-o-wisp, or will o' wisp) Very recently, I have even seen this phrase turned into willowisp as one straight word.

Hallow-E'en has taken the same path as this last example. All punctuation has disappeared. This is largely in part to people not understanding why it was there in the first place as each generation loses knowledge of the origin or purpose of the contraction. So as each Christmas poem is printed without the apostrophe, or Halloween without a hyphen or apostrophe, children learn not to use them in that way.

I hope that helps clear up your curiosity!

u/yelderee · 1 pointr/etymology

The OED online is free in most parts of the English-speaking world with a library card, and with its advanced search capabilities and historical thesaurus linked from every definition it is a far more powerful reference tool than the printed version. That said, you can still purchase all 20 volumes for USD $1100, or the one-volume compact edition (with magnifying glass) for USD $420.

If you are dead set on paper and not interested in words that stopped being used before Shakespeare, the 2-volume Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is excellent and will meet your needs. You can get the 1993 printing (don't go any earlier) for very cheap. Ask beforehand to be sure the bookseller is selling you both volumes!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/019861134X/ref=tmm_hrd_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used

​

For a bit more, you can get the fifth edition (the sixth edition is current):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B00EKYRFGE


[Edited to clarify who OED online is free for.]

u/ShatterZero · 5 pointsr/etymology

Amazon Link because everyone deserves to read it at least once.

It's very short, around a hundred pages, and only $6 USD with free Prime shipping.

It's a truly powerful book from an actual Holocaust survivor.

u/MSCantrell · 5 pointsr/etymology

Best answer. Related: there's a great book about the creation of the OED, The Professor and the Madman.

u/WhoTookPlasticJesus · 8 pointsr/etymology

Tangentially related, there's a fascinating dictionary of American idioms that's worth checking out.

A dictionary of Portuguese idioms-- at least Brazilian Portuguese-- would be super NSFW. And I just realized how much I want an English language dictionary of Portuguese idioms.

u/Thelonious_Cube · 3 pointsr/etymology

The older American Heritage dictionaries (red cover) had a marvelous supplemental section on Indo-European roots (which were referenced in the main text) - I still treasure mine for that (and other) reasons.

At some point (the 1990's?) they split that appendix off into a separate book.

There's also this

u/pecuchet · 0 pointsr/etymology

It features in Wikipedia's list of ethnic slurs and the reference leads to this as 'dark gable'.

edit: Here is the Fresh Prince saying it. It looks like a play on Clark Gable.

u/Bayoris · 3 pointsr/etymology

I have this book at home, which does exactly what you describe. I found I haven't used it that much, but it has been helpful when I've needed it:

http://www.amazon.com/Merriam-Webster-Dictionary-Synonyms/dp/0877793417

u/Ferinex · 12 pointsr/etymology

Wisconsin. Yes I've heard it, it's not common though. I always thought it was a reference to the "toy". It's a plastic barrel filled with little 2 dimensional monkeys who have arms which allow linking. It seems the saying predates the toy, though.

Edit: This is what I mean

u/Dashtego · 2 pointsr/etymology

Names on the Land is very good and at least etymology-adjacent, in that it's about the origins of place names rather than words in general.

u/UrbanWanderer · 1 pointr/etymology

[Learn Spanish via Etymologies ](Learn Spanish via Etymologies: The Addictive Way To Learn Spanish Quickly https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BQVTYG9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_9rTXBb7ZF74F1) — strongly recommended and based on SpanishEtymology

u/raendrop · 2 pointsr/etymology

/u/Thelonious_Cube nailed it. You might be interested in George Lakoff's book Metaphors We Live By.

u/Bad_lotus · 3 pointsr/etymology

Have you looked at David Crystal's work? He's one of the the most prominent historians of English in our age. Try this: https://www.amazon.com/Stories-English-David-Crystal/dp/1585677191

u/kicklecubicle · 1 pointr/etymology

I originally intended to mention that the Barnhart book is now called the Chambers Dictionary of Etymology, but looking on Amazon it seems it's harder to come by. Any idea why this is? It's the newer version of the book and I just got my copy last year on Amazon for around $25.

u/Amator · 3 pointsr/etymology

Harvard's Geoffrey Chaucer page has a lot of good, but dated resources for Middle English. There are also YouTube videos of varying quality. I have picked up this book but haven't gotten past the first few chapters yet: A Book of Middle English, Third Edition

u/DavidRFZ · 3 pointsr/etymology

Saint Paul has a book.

It’s worth it if you live there.

u/whole_nother · 3 pointsr/etymology

Great question. Closest I have is the American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, but it's not as useful as what you're describing for that purpose.