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Etymology Dictionaries

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Etymology Dictionaries,
Word And Phrase Origins

Beastly Garden of Wordy Delights
OK, so you know it is a 'herd' of buffalo, but what is the collective noun for bats? Jellyfish? Toads? You'll find the answers here, along with other fascinating information about nouns and adjectives and a smattering of humor.

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
Over 18,000 entries with etymologies, word and phrase origins and other "words with a tale to tell."

Classics Technology Center: Global Glossary
Authoritative, scholarly, reliable information on words of Greco-Roman origin. Constantly checked for accuracy and currency. May not work on all servers.

English-to-American Dictionary
Collection of words in British English that are likely to confuse Americans. Includes slang and colloquialisms.

Etymologically Speaking
Curious word origins from English, French and German.

Online Etymology Dictionary
Origins of the English language; online search for word origins from a variety of sources.

Origins of Phrases
Origins of common English phrases.

Phrase Finder
Meanings and origins of over 1200 English sayings, phrases and idioms, and a large searchable archive.

Take Our Word For It
A weekly word-origin webzine. Questions and answers on word origins.

Word Play
Extensive collection of links to sites that feature word play; good place to browse and generate ideas.

Word Wizard
Word and phrase origins, quotations, articles on language quirks, even a list of invigorating insults.

Wordorigins.org
Short articles on the origins of words and phrases in English, with emphasis on debunking linguistic myths. Includes research tools and a discussion group.

Words and Stuff
Over 150 articles on words and wordplay.

World Wide Words
Word histories and curiosities galore, incredible depth of information on the definition and origins of words and phrases from all over the world, present and past, with reviews of various online dictionaries. Available: a weekly newsletter.

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