Wednesday Jan 23rd, 2013
Wrenching an etymology out of a monkey
By Anatoly Liberman
Primates have given Germanic language historians great trouble. In the most recent dictionary of German etymology (Kluge-Seebold), the entry Affe “ape” is one of the most detailed. In the revised version of the OED, monkey is also discussed at a length, otherwise rare in this online edition. Despite the multitude of hypotheses, the sought-for solution is not in view. read more »
Wednesday May 22nd, 2013
Multifarious devils, part 1: “bogey”
Anatoly Liberman on boo, bugbears, bucks, and boogie-woogie
Wednesday May 15th, 2013
The oddest English spellings, part 20: The letter “y”
Anatoly Liberman wonders why ‘y’ exists
Wednesday May 8th, 2013
Panning for etymological gold: “aloof”
Anatoly Liberman on the word’s Dutch origins
Wednesday May 1st, 2013
Gleanings from Dickens
A call for information on ‘cashy’ and rising intonations
January, 2013
Wednesday May 22nd, 2013
Multifarious devils, part 1: “bogey”
Anatoly Liberman on boo, bugbears, bucks, and boogie-woogie
Wednesday May 15th, 2013
The oddest English spellings, part 20: The letter “y”
Anatoly Liberman wonders why ‘y’ exists
Wednesday May 8th, 2013
Panning for etymological gold: “aloof”
Anatoly Liberman on the word’s Dutch origins
Wednesday May 1st, 2013
Gleanings from Dickens
A call for information on ‘cashy’ and rising intonations
