This volume provides a uniquely broad account of etymology - the science of researching the origin and history of words - and demonstrates that it is an essential part of the field of historical linguistics. Chapters in the first part examine the long history of etymology, exploring how scholars have thought about the origins and histories of words since the time of the ancient Greeks, and describing the watershed in the development of the comparative method in historical
linguistics during the course of the nineteenth century. Part II turns to questions of methodology, paying close attention to the central importance of the comparative method and regular sound changes, but also embracing topics such as semantic change, word formation, language contact, analogy, and sound
symbolism. Part three investigates the contexts and uses of etymological scholarship, including its central role in lexicography, its relationship with studies of names and of slang, and its broader cultural impact. The final part comprises twenty chapters that present a global survey of current etymological scholarship, spanning the world's major language families and providing valuable insights into the state of etymological research on each of them. Written by a team of leading specialists,
The Oxford Handbook of Etymology offers students, researchers, and practitioners an authoritative guide to the world of etymological research.