Etymology Report Assignment
Choose a word from the list below. Each student must choose a different word to investigate. Email your
first three choices to Dr. D. Please pay special attention to these instructions and re-read the material in
red—people have failed this assignment simply because they failed to find the correct books.
1. Once your word has been assigned, find the word in the Oxford English Dictionary (copyright 1989 or
later). You have THREE choices for accessing the OED. There is a 10 volume paper edition in the
library OR you can use the CD-Rom of the book at the library OR you can access it via
http://www.oed.com/. The catch with the online version is that you must be a subscriber. MW has a
subscription, but it is (as far as I can tell) not linked from the MW Library homepage. To use the online
version, you will need to first log in to your MW Google email account and then open a second tab and
either use the URL above or Google search for the Oxford English Dictionary. The OED is a libraryuse only resource, so you have to either go there for the paper version or CD-Rom version, or go via
your MW Google Account.
Note here that the entry point for the OED, and it features my Google Plus account info at the top:
Put your word in the Quick search box and click Go. You will then come to a page like this:
Etymology Report 1
Note that there are several options for your word. You'll need to look at each option; HOWEVER,
some options are for obscure uses of the word, like in this entry, want as a noun meaning "mole," is
way beyond our current ken of the word. Therefore, what you want to find an use most are the entries
that give you the word as we currently know it (in this case, first as a verb, then a noun—and you'll
note how both the noun and verb versions date from about the same period of c1200.
Click into the entries and you'll see a page like this one. Now, the online version has been undergoing
A LOT of change since the 1989 version of the OED. These "new" pages are not always the best or the
most complete. Therefore, I strongly suggest you click on the link for Previous Version—even if the
entry is not designated as one that "has not been fully updated."
If I go to the previous (1989) version of a word, I find something like this page—which I personally
find easier to read and essentially to print off.
Etymology Report 2
There is ONE drawback to this 1989 version online: it uses abbreviations for the works quotations
are taken from. This is also true in the print version and the CD-Rom version. So, to get the full
title and even more info about these sources, go back to the "new" entry. What you will find is that
this entry either gives you the full title, as in Ancrene Riwle, or you can click on an item and get
more information, like the full title, or in this case the author's first name, or you can explore the
author or work further with more links:
As you read about the word's origins and history, make sure that you understand the abbreviations
used by the OED, like Obs., Intr., Trans., Adj., etc since they are pertinent to understanding the
word's role and meaning through time. Some of these are obvious and some are not. Use the
OED's linked resources to make sure you understand them.
2.
For current uses of the word, as well as its Indo-European root, look up it in The American
Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (the 3rd edition, 1992 or 4th edition, 2000). Note
that not all versions of the American Heritage Dictionary contain the necessary reference to
the I-E root—INCLUDING the version off the library homepage under Credo References.
The most reliable are the two editions mentioned here. Be sure to look up the Indo-European root
in the Appendix. HINT: if you can't find the I-E root, you have the wrong dictionary! (And if your
entry appears rather short, you probably have the college edition, not the unabridged edition.)
First, look up your word choice and at the end of the entry on the word, you'll see something like
this, as occurs at the end of the entry on "foot":
[ME fot <OD fōt. See ped- in App.]
The material in bold is the I-E root, in this case ped-. Turn and find the root in the Appendix
and you will be able to trace your word from its I-E root forward.
Photocopy both entries to use in with your report. Like with the OED, make sure that you
understand the abbreviations used since they are pertinent to understanding the word's role and
meaning through time.
You may use additional sources, but must have used the the proper OED and proper edition of the
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.
Etymology Report 3
3.
Interview one member of the class via email and one non-English major (in any manner you
desire) about what the word means today. Ask your interviewee to define it; describe its
connotations, overtones, innuendoes, and slang meanings; and use it as they would in ordinary
conversation. Use the MSWord field data forms under the Assignment link to conduct your
interviews and turn in this data with your report. (Samples of the forms are at the end of this
assignment, but you'll probably want to use MSWord document versions to record your data for
uploading to Moodle.)
Report:
Your report should summarize what you have learned from your sources about the derivation of the word
from its Indo-European root to modern history, its first recorded usage, and the most interesting uses of the
word over time, including appropriate dates and short examples in context. Then it should go on to discuss
the current meanings and usage of the word, derived from your sources and interviews, and reflect on how
the word has changed or shifted in meaning since its first usage. Use the attached gradesheet on page 4 to
guide you as to what to include. Please note that the authority of your sources is more important than
your interviews. Give most of your time and effort to using the two dictionary sources well.
Write formally, but don't be afraid to use first person, especially when discussing your interview results.
Conserve space by skipping a formal introduction and conclusion altogether. Be concise: every word
must be important and convey concrete information. When considering what to include and what to leave
out, remember that the most important information is that which is authoritative; therefore, the bulk of your
report should come from your source material, not your interview sources or personal opinion. Use the
grade sheet as a checklist for topic coverage.
Your report should be one page (and only one page), double-spaced (NO extra spaces between lines
or paragraphs), in a readable, 10 point, font (this is 10 point Times New Roman) for a total of about
500 words. Simply place your name on the top line and your title centered on the third line. Cite source
information clearly, but concisely, in MLA format, within the text. Do not add a Works Cited page—
instead give basic info within the text, as in: The OED records the first occurrence of the word in print as . .
. . Edit your report carefully.
Submission and Presentation of Report and Materials:
First, you may need to "embed" any special fonts or symbols used in your paper (I did so for this
assignment sheet.) To do so in MSWord, click on the File tab and go to the Word Options button. Then,
click on the Save link, then tick the box next to Embed Fonts in the File, and click OK at the bottom right
of screen.
Upload your paper to Moodle, as an attachment with your field data forms. Name these files
logically, as in YourLastName plus word studied: smith-want. I don't need copies of your OED entry or
AHD entry.
Remember to complete your upload by the due date.
Reference Works to Consult for the Etymology Report
Must Have:
 Oxford English Dictionary. 20 vols. Oxford: Clarendon, 1989.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Third (or Fourth) Edition. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 1992 (2000).
Other Resources to Consider:
Barnhart, Robert. The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology. NY: Wilson, 1988.
Berg, Donna. A Guide to the Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1993.
Buck, Carl Darling. A Dictionary of Selected Synonyms in the Principal Indo-European Languages: A
Contribution to the History of Ideas. Chicago: U Chicago P, 1988.
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Bryson, Bill. The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way. NY: W. W. Morrow, 1990.
Ciardi, John. Good Words To You : An All-New Dictionary and Native's Guide to The Unknown American
Language. NY: Harper & Row, 1987.
The Cambridge History of the English Language. Ed. Richard M. Hogg. Cambridge; NY: Cambridge U,
1992-.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge; NY: Cambridge UP, 1987.
---. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge; NY: Cambridge UP, 1995.
A Dictionary of American Idioms. Eds. M.T. Boatner, J.E. Gates, and Adam Makkai. NY: Barron's, 1987.
Dictionary of American Regional English. Ed. Frederic G. Cassidy. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of
Harvard University Press, 1985.
Garner, Bryan A. A Dictionary of Modern American Usage. NY: Oxford UP, 1998.
Lewin, Esther and Albert E. Lewin. The Thesaurus of Slang: 150,000 Uncensored Contemporary Slang
Terms, Common Idioms, and Colloquialisms Arranged for Quick and Easy Reference. NY: Facts
on File Publications, 1988.
Marckwardt, Albert Henry. American English. NY: Oxford UP, 1958.
Partridge, Eric. A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. NY: MacMillan, 1970.
Webster's Word Histories. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1989.
Etymology Report 5
Word Choices
accent
act
art
best
bond
clear
crown
degree
die
expect
find
fly
grind
gentle
go
good
heavy
hide
hot
import
join
kill
last
let
lie
lift
light
make
man
mark
merit
name
new
open
order
out
over
pan
part
pit
place
post
range
raw
read
ride
right
roll
round
salt
sally
score
simple
stick
talk
tie
tone
turn
want
wash
watch
well
wheel
Etymology Report Gradesheet
Checklist of Requirements:
_____ Completed two interview data forms
_____ Uploaded final paper, references, and interviews to Moodle per instructions
Paper Is:
_____ Written formally
_____ Concise and meaningful
_____ One full page, double-spaced, in a readable, 10 point, font
_____ Well-edited; information cited clearly
Paper Includes:
_____ Clear summary of word derivation from its Indo-European root to modern history
_____ First recorded usage of word
_____ Includes uses of the word over time (including appropriate dates and examples in context)
_____ Discusses the current meanings and usage of the word
_____ Reflects on how the word has changed or shifted in meaning since its first usage
Etymology Report 6
Field Data Form for Etymology Assignment
Your Name _________________________________
Your Word ______________________
Interview Subject's
Name
Subject's Definition
of the Word
Subject's Description
of
Connotations,
Overtones,
Innuendoes, Slang
Meanings
How Subject Would
Use the Word in
Ordinary
Conversation
Etymology Report 7
Field Data Form for Etymology Assignment
Your Name _________________________________
Your Word ______________________
Interview Subject's
Name
Subject's Definition
of the Word
Subject's Description
of
Connotations,
Overtones,
Innuendoes, Slang
Meanings
How Subject Would
Use the Word in
Ordinary
Conversation
Etymology Report 8