ESL Web Directory

Excellent online dictionary of etymologies which covers an extensive range or words and phrases.

A site devoted to origins of words and slang phrases. Includes a searchable list of etymologies of interesting words and phrases, which are selected because their origins are inherently interesting or some bit of folklore, sometimes true and sometimes false.

The aim of Ancient Scripts is to give an introduction to writing systems, which hopefully will tantalize the reader into searching for more information on the web or in books and publications.

The etymology and history of First Names.

Electronic Journal of International Proverb Studies. Proverbs, Quotations, Sayings, Wellerisms.

ethnologue.com, languages of the world. A searchable database of language resources.

In this game you'll be presented with 10 randomly selected word origin or word definition puzzles to solve; in each case the word or phrase is highlighted in bold, and a number of possible answers will be presented. You need to choose the correct answer to score a point for that question. Beware: the false answers will often also seem quite plausible, and some of the true answers are hard to believe, but we have documentation.

An etymological dictionary focusing on those modern English words whose origins reach far back into Ancient Greek and Roman mythology.

A list of some curious word origins. Some of these are English, but some are French and German words from which we get some English words.

Reviews of lots of books on etymology. Funny and amusing origins of selected words, phrases, expressions, and sayings.

Fun with words and etymology from Martha Barnette, author of Ladyfingers & Nun's Tummies, and other books on word origins. Includes archive of fascinating stories behind some familiar words, and some other odd words as well. Check out the Wacky Word of the Week!

This site includes a list of links to on-line, worldwide resources for the study of the English language and its history. (Many of these links were discovered by others too numerous to list here! Thanks.) As well, my students are contributing to an anthology of historical texts representing different genres of English, and an encyclopedia on the cultural history of English.

Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an "English" word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, derivative, archaic or abandoned words in what we loosely define as the "English Language", that a clear-cut definition seems impossible. For the purposes of this project though, words are included that may stretch any basic definitions.

Play Moot online -- the game that tests your knowledge of grammar, etymology, and semantics.

This site contains resources for students of Old English at the University of Virginia and elsewhere, including texts and exercises, information about Introduction to Old English, the new textbook by the creator of this web site (with a link to the free on-line version), and links to a selection of on-line resources. Students everywhere are invited to make free use of these pages.

Junicode (short for Junius-Unicode) is a Unicode font for medievalists.

English obscure words and etymology resources: online dictionary of weird and unusual words, word lists, technical vocabulary aids, lipograms, and word related essays

This online rhetoric, provided by Dr. Gideon Burton of Brigham Young University, is a guide to the terms of classical and renaissance rhetoric. Sometimes it is difficult to see the forest (the big picture) of rhetoric because of the trees (the hundreds of Greek and Latin terms naming figures of speech, etc.) within rhetoric.

The Society for Mediaeval Languages and Linguistics was formed in 1998 to promote the linguistic study of languages known to have been written or spoken during the period AD 450-1450, and to provide a forum for those with an interest in and working in this field. Membership is and should be diverse, encompassing mediaevalists and linguists alike, and is open to people working on any linguistic aspect of mediaeval languages.

The Web's only weekly etymology webzine

A brief history of the English language including the origin of words, borrowed words and language families.

Articles charting the history and evolution of the English language, sorted by period and by topic.

This Website is designed to help students of the English language trace the development of the phonemes of English from the Old English period into Present-Day English.

Roots of English: an Etymological Dictionary by Prof. Eugene Cotter, Seton Hall University. AbleMedia Gold Chalice winning freeware from CTCWeb.

A look at the Viking influence on the English language.