Etymology deals with
- the origins, roots and antecedents of modern usage of words
- evolution of a word's meaning
- related cognates in other languages
Part of the task of understanding a writer's choice of words involves
coming to terms with the histories of their meanings and senses. The OED
is an extremely important resource for work in etymology, but a number of specialized dictionaries in the Reference collection may be
easier starting places.
TITLE The Barnhart dictionary of etymology / edited by Robert K.
Barnhart ; Sol Steinmetz, managing editor.
PUBLISHER New York : H.W. Wilson Co., 1988.
Leyburn-Reference PE1580 .B35 1988
AUTHOR Onions, C. T. (Charles Talbut), 1873-1965.
TITLE The Oxford dictionary of English etymology / edited by C. T.
Onions with the assistance of G. W. S. Friedrichsen and R. W.
Burchfield.
PUBLISHER Oxford : Clarendon Press, [1979, c1966]
Leyburn-Reference PE1580 .O5 1979
AUTHOR Klein, Ernest David, 1899-1983.
TITLE A comprehensive etymological dictionary of the English language;
dealing with the origin of words and their sense development
thus illustrating the history of civilization and culture.
EDITION Unabridged, one vol. ed.
PUBLISHER Amsterdam, New York, Elsevier Pub. Co., 1971.
Leyburn-Reference PE1580 .K47 1971