Date:  Wed, 20 Mar 1996 11:21:40 PST

From:  Joseph Jones <jjones[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UNIXG.UBC.CA>

Subject: Re: AHD 2nd edition



Further to the recent postings on etymology and the American Heritage

Dictionary. The first ed. had the appended list of Indo-European

roots. The second ed. did not, and the list was published separately,

both in paper and hardcover. To indicate the complexity of the

interrelationship, I quote from the separate dictionary of

Indo-European roots (xxvii):



"Every English word in the index is also a main entry in The American

Heritage Dictionary: Second College Edition, but not every entry in

The American Heritage Dictionary that is of Indo-European ancestry is

included in the Dictionary of Indo-European Roots. ... The

cross-references between etymologies in The American Heritage

Dictionary do, however, enable a user of that Dictionary to find the

Indo-European root of any English word of Indo-European derivation."



The third ed. again has the appended list of Indo-European roots.

Be advised that there are substantial differences between this list

and the one associated with the second ed. These differences are not

explained, nor are they readily categorized by inspection. This third

ed. seems to be currently available for purchase:



TITLE:    The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language

EDITION:   3

SOURCE:   Boston : Houghton Mifflin Company, Aug. 1992

STATUS:   Active Record

ISBN:    0-395-44895-6 Trade Cloth

PRICE:    USD 45.00



If the interest is etymology, apart from a need for a general

dictionary, I would recommend:



TITLE:    Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology

NAMES:    Barnhart, Robert K.

SOURCE:   Bronx : H. W. Wilson, 1988

STATUS:   Active Record

ISBN:    0-8242-0745-9 Trade Cloth

PRICE:    USD 64.00 Retail





Joseph Jones    jjones[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]unixg.ubc.ca

University of British Columbia Library