Our recent post on the Hobson-Jobson dictionary of Anglo-Indian vocabulary drew attention to the words owed by the English language to India. In fact, English is a great borrower of words from a wide range of languages – but which of our words come from where?
For one etymological enthusiast interested in learning more about the foreign roots of everyday English, simply reading about word history didn’t quite go far enough in answering this question. So, using Douglas Harper’s online dictionary of etymology and a bit of HTML know-how, he created this tool to help him visualise the rich etymological tapestry of the English language.
I wrote quite an extensive article on this subject (in French) on my blog : http://www.Le-mot-juste-en-anglais.com (at http://le-mot-juste-en-anglais.typepad.com/le_mot_juste_en_anglais/2012/07/le-mot-anglais-de-la-semaine-rickshaw.html)
If you are interested in the English version, write me at Le.mot.juste.en.anglais@gmail.com
Generally, I’d be happy to cooperate and collaborate with your blog, which I hold in very high esteem.
Regards
Jonathan