Looking for etymology books? We've gathered 11 free etymology books and dictionaries in PDF, covering etymological dictionaries, word origins, English language history, and linguistic research.
These resources range from classic dictionaries tracing English words to their roots, to modern studies on how languages change over time. Whether you study linguistics or just want to know where everyday words come from, there is something here for you.
Browse by section or start with our dictionaries. Every book is free to read online or download as PDF.
Etymological Dictionaries
These dictionaries trace the origin and history of words across languages. From comprehensive English etymological dictionaries to specialized references, each one maps how words traveled and changed over centuries.
Comprehensive etymological dictionary of the Basque language, covering native vocabulary, loanwords, phonological changes, and morphological analysis. Edited posthumously by Max W. Wheeler from R. L. Trask's unfinished manuscript.
Modern scholarly dictionary analyzing 55 English word etymologies in depth, reviewing all competing hypotheses for each word. Includes extensive bibliography and word indexes. Published by University of Minnesota Press.
Classic 1848 dictionary covering words derived from Greek, Latin, and French, with radicals and definitions. Designed as a reference for professional men and as an academic class book.
Select glossary tracing English words back to their Scandinavian, French, Latin, and Germanic origins. Designed as an introduction to the historical grammar of English, with grouped word studies by theme.
Comprehensive etymology covering Anglo-Saxon, French, Dutch, German, Welsh, Danish, Gothic, Swedish, Gaelic, Italian, Latin, and Greek roots. One of the first etymologies to cover the whole language beyond just Latin and Greek.
Beyond dictionaries, these books explore how words were born and evolved. They cover the English language from its Indo-European roots to its modern global form.
University course material covering language families, Indo-European origins, Old English through Modern English periods, the Great Vowel Shift, impact of colonialism, and English as a global language.
Practical guide to English word origins organized by language source: Anglo-Saxon, Latin, Greek, and French. Includes charts of Indo-European language families, prefix and suffix grids, and a word list appendix with meanings from all source languages.
These are specialized studies on specific topics within etymology and linguistic analysis. From Old English grammar to cross-cultural comparisons of how ancient civilizations understood word origins.
Textbook covering Old English grammar, phonology, syntax, and vocabulary. Part of the Edinburgh Textbooks on the English Language series, with exercises for further exploration.
Covers the English language from 1500 to 1700, including spelling, vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and dialectal origins. Part of the Edinburgh Textbooks on the English Language series.
Cross-cultural study comparing semantic etymologies in ancient India (Yaska's Nirukta) and Greece (Plato's Cratylus), exploring the connection between etymology and magical thinking across pre-modern cultures.
Linguistic study examining the etymology of the English verb 'cop' through the lens of phonosymbolism, with cross-linguistic comparisons including Sinitic languages and early letter forms.
Presents a methodology for creating structured etymological datasets using NLP. The resulting dataset contains over 103000 relationships covering 63603 English lexical terms, extracted from the Online Etymology Dictionary.
That covers our collection of free etymology books in PDF. We hope you found a title that sparks your curiosity about the history behind the words we use every day.
