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23 Best Etymology Books of All Time


Our goal: Find the best Etymology books according to the internet (not just one random person's opinion).

    Here's what we did:
  1. Type "best etymology books" into our search engine and study the top 4+ pages.
  2. Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
  3. Rank the results neatly for you here! 😊
    (It was a lot of work. But hey! That's why we're here, right?)

(Updated 2024)

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Last Updated: Monday 1 Jan, 2024

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  1. 1
    The Lost Words

    The Lost Words

    Robert Macfarlane

  2. 3
    Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology
  3. 5
    Frindle

    Frindle

    Andrew Clements

  4. 8
    Wheelock's Latin

    Wheelock's Latin

    Frederic M. Wheelock

  5. 13
    The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language

    The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language

    Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries

  6. 17
    Mer to Moor
  7. 20
    Chambers Dictionary of Etymology
  8. 21
    Word Origins

    Word Origins

    John Ayto

  9. 22
    The Oxford Guide to Etymology
  10. 23
    Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins

FAQ

  • How was this Etymology books list created?

    We searched for 'best Etymology books', found the top 5 articles, took every book mentioned in 2+ articles, and averaged their rankings.

  • How many Etymology books are in this list?

    There are 23 books in this list.

  • Why did you create this Etymology books list?

    We wanted to gather the most accurate list of Etymology books on the internet.

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