Ologies and Isms: A Dictionary of Word Beginnings and Endings

by Michael Quinion

The codebook has arrived
Some of the most common--and often misinterpreted--parts of English language construction are prefixes and suffixes. Ologies and Isms unlocks the meaning of these building blocks that make up so much of our modern medical and technical vocabulary. In accessible, plain language this book explains what each affix means. With its huge store of examples--over 10,000 across 1,250 entries--this ready reference illustrates the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0192801236
• ISBN13: 9780192801234
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.7" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

Great little book

If you enjoy word origins, you will love this book. Very interesting.

Informative and Enjoyable

The terminology of medicine and biology, to name just two fields, is rife with words formed largely by compounding Greek stems. This book enables a layman like me to make sense of them, and of many other words in more common usage. Michael Quinion's explanations of the word parts (usually prefixes and suffixes, but frequently syllables found in the middle of words) are clearly written, and he provides examples of the most common words using each stem. I would estimate that perhaps 80% of the word stems contained in this book are of Greek origin, either directly or as modified by Latin usage. Since the list of stems is 269 pages long, however, that means that there are plenty of word stems of different origin. This is also one of those rare reference books that are a joy just to dip into and read an entry or two.

the before & aft of English

How often have you seen a technical word & not quite known what it meant? Tired of not really knowing what the ingredients on a food box in the store really are?OLOGIES AND ISMS by Michael Quinion is a must-have dictionary that will help you decipher the prefixes & suffixes of modern English words.Rebeccasreads recommends OLOGIES AND ISMS as an important resource for writers, reporters, students, & anyone who plays with words as in Scrabble or crosswords.