Rice University
Rice University: Loan Words
An exhaustive and comprehensive resource on the definition, process, and uses of "loan words" in English. Includes several examples of words grouped by subject and language of origin. Excellent site.
Other
Take Our Word for It
A bi-weekly Webzine of word origins. Includes a Spotlight word, answers to submitted questions, a curmudgeon's corner and other areas.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Origins and Meanings of Foreign Words and Phrases
Become acquainted with the origins and meanings of foreign words and phrases frequently used in English texts.
Other
Kryss Tal: The English Language: Words Borrowed
An incredible comprehensive list of "borrowed words" in the English language, grouped by the languages from which the words are borrowed. Provides and describes dozens of languages and literally thousands of loan words. Highly recommended.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Take Their Word for It!
Students learn how scientific terms are formed using Latin and Greek roots, prefixes and suffixes, and on that basis, learn to make an educated guess about the meaning of a word. Students are introduced to the role played by metaphor in...
Other
World Wide Words/exploring the English Language
"World Wide Words is devoted to the English language - its history, quirks, curiosities and evolution. The Words site is organized into sections, each with its own index to help you find your way about."
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Origins & Meanings of Foreign Words & Phrases: English Ii Reading
In this lesson, you will be introduced to selective lists of words. These words can help enrich your language, deepen your understanding of what you read, and broaden your sense of the world.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Origins and Meanings of Foreign Words (English I Reading)
Become acquainted with the origins and meanings of foreign words and phrases frequently used in English texts.
Wisc-Online
Wisc Online: English Words of French Origin
In this learning activity, students read and listen to English words from the French language.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Origins and Meanings of Foreign Words and Phrases
Become acquainted with the origins and meanings of foreign words and phrases frequently used in English texts.
Other
Word Detective
The Word Detective provides great information on the origin of certain words and phrases that are everyday lingo. Click on Index and chose from the alphabetical list or type the word you are looking for in the search box.
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: A Brief History of Plural Word S
All it takes is a simple S to make most English words plural. But it hasn't always worked that way (and there are, of course, exceptions). John McWhorter looks back to the good old days when English was newly split from German -- and...
University of Alberta
University of Alberta: Zoology Latin and Greek Roots Index
This University of Alberta site features Latin and Greek roots for zoological terms. The index is divided alphabetically.
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Where Do New Words Come From?
Marcel Danesi explains how new words enter a language. L.11-12.1a Gram/Usage changes
University of Manchester
Children's University of Manchester: Word Literacy: Match the Eponyms
Students read a definition of eponym, then play a two-level game where they match items to the people they are named after.
![San Diego Natural History Museum: Feathered Dinosaurs: Dinosaur Root Words [Pdf] Lesson Plan](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "San Diego Natural History Museum: Feathered Dinosaurs: Dinosaur Root Words [Pdf] Lesson Plan")
San Diego Natural History Museum
San Diego Natural History Museum: Feathered Dinosaurs: Dinosaur Root Words [Pdf]
Go to page 7 of this teacher's guide to find dinosaur root words. These can be used to make flashcards. Many of these roots are found in English words. Choose some of these root words and identify at least one corresponding English word.
Other
The Phrase Finder: Meanings and Origins of Phrases
The free section of this site provides the meanings and origins of thousands of quotations, euphemisms, popular fallacies and misheard song lyrics. A British site, some of the expressions are not familiar to most Americans.
Other
English Words of Arabic Origin
A list of English words originating in Arabic, followed by a series of exercises for the advanced English student.
University of Manchester
Children's University of Manchester: Word Literacy: Borrowing Game
This collection offers three games through which students match English words to the language from which they were borrowed.
Other
Online Etymology Dictionary
The site, created by an avowed amateur, Douglas Harper, shares the origins of words. Students will type a word into a text box and click a "search" button to see the etymology of the word.
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Where Do Languages Come From?
A most interesting site! Explore why the French speak French in France and the English speak English in England and lots of other information on the history of words and languages.
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Mysteries of Vernacular: Yankee
Is it a doodle dandy? A baseball team? The origins of the word yankee are unclear, though its usage in America as a pejorative is well-documented. Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel track the varying levels of contempt that the word yankee...
Other
Vocabulary Workshop
This vocabulary workshop will be helpful to anyone interested in brushing up on their skills. This site features a comprehensive look at root words, prefixes, suffixes and more.
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Mysteries of Vernacular: Sarcophagus
Dating back to the early Roman Empire, the word sarcophagus originally referred to the limestone a coffin was made of, rather than the coffin itself. From flesh-eating stone to a stone coffin, Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel unbury the...
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