В современной русской лексикографии пока не существует этимологического словаря, сравнимого с предлагаемым по глубине этимологических параллелей, включающих в общей сложности около 200 языков.
Первоначально словарь базировался на зарубежных исследованиях русской лексики и в 1950-1958 гг. был опубликован на немецком языке. В 1964-1973 гг. он был переведен на русский язык и дополнен О.Н.Трубачевым. В 4-е издание словаря вошла его статья "Из работы над русским Фасмером", он же является автором Послесловия.
Предназначен лингвистам, переводчикам, редакторам, преподавателям русского языка, студентам-гуманитариям. Представляет интерес для всех, кто интересуется происхождением русских слов.

This revised and expanded edition provides a comprehensive overview of comparative Indo-European linguistics and the branches of the Indo-European language family, covering both linguistic and cultural material.Now offering even greater coverage than the first edition, it is the definitive introduction to the field. Updated, corrected, and expanded edition, containing new illustrations of selected texts and inscriptions, and text samples with translations and etymological commentary
Extensively covers individual histories of both ancient and modern languages of the Indo-European family
Provides an overview of Proto-Indo-European culture, society, and language
Designed for use in courses, with exercises and suggestions for further reading included in each chapter
Includes maps, a glossary, a bibliography, and comprehensive word and subject indexes

There are no direct records of the original Indo-European speech. By comparing the vocabularies of its various descendants, however, it is possible to reconstruct the basic Indo-European roots with considerable confidence. In The Origins of English Words, Shipley catalogues these proposed roots and follows the often devious, always fascinating, process by which some of their offshoots have grown. Anecdotal, eclectic, and always enthusiastic, The Origins of English Words is a diverting expedition beyond linguistics into literature, history, folklore, anthropology, philosophy, and science.

精选英语词语600余条，介绍其来源、产生背景、历史沿革及特定含义。
将历史背景和文化内涵贯穿于词源和词义演变的讲解中，既可加深对词义理解，又可开阔语言视野。
词条均加注国际音标，绝大多数词条附有例句及其汉语译文，便于读者理解，掌握词条用法。
材料翔实可信，全书注重实用性、知识性和趣味性的融合。

Amazon.com
The latest edition of the American Heritage Dictionary is out, and that's hot news--not just for the resolute followers of lexicographical minutiae, but for the general reading and writing public as well. Why? Because the American Heritage is a long-standing favorite family dictionary (never underestimate the value of pictures) and one of the prime dictionary references for magazines, newspapers, and dot.com content providers. For scads of writers and editors across the U.S., it sets the standard on matters of style and lexicographical authority.
So this new edition is exciting and noteworthy, but how good is it? In its favor, the fourth edition is as current a dictionary as you can get. It's six years fresher than the 1994 version, with 10,000 words and definitions you won't find in the still venerable but now slightly dated third edition. For example, unlike its predecessor (and also unlike the 1996 Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary), this fourth edition covers dot-com, e-commerce, and soccer mom, Ebonics, Viagra, and a surf definition for cruising television channels and the Internet.
Its panel of special consultants includes authorities on anthropology, architecture, cinema, and law, plus military science, music, religion, and sports, and that is reflected in an impressively comprehensive coverage of the arts, culture, and technology. Sadly, however, there are no medical consultants on the panel, and that loss is felt in some substandard medical definitions. Other flaws: there's a greater than usual tendency to define a word with a form of the same word--for example, fuzzy, whose first two definitions are "1. covered with fuzz." and "2. of or resembling fuzz." And some definitions seem needlessly wordy, such as the entry for furious, which is "full of or characterized by extreme anger; raging." Compare that with the more succinct Oxford Encyclopedic entry: "1. extremely angry. 2. full of fury."
On the other hand, there are valuable entries throughout the dictionary supplying additional information on synonyms, usage, or word history, and these extras, such as the history of diatribe and the usage notes on discomfit, are interesting. The layout is easy on the eyes, with dark blue/green bold type setting the words apart from their definitions, and 4,000 color photographs, maps, and illustrations that are both useful and delightful. On one page, the margin provides color depictions of Francis Bacon, bacterium, and a Bactrian camel. Theodore Roosevelt and a rooster share another margin, while a third page offers Isak Dinesen, a dingo, and dinoflagellate. It is a fascinating book to peruse, and a compellingly scholarly addition to the American Heritage Dictionary line. --Stephanie Gold --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Ever since the furor in the U.S. that greeted Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1961) faded, it has become a given that dictionaries should be descriptive rather than prescriptive, a principle sanctified in Britain in the 1850s in Herbert Coleridge's original plan for the monumental project that eventually produced the Oxford English Dictionary. That dictionaries grow by gradual accretion of new words and new senses characterizes the latest edition of the American Heritage Dictionary (AHD), even if it, more than any other contemporary English-language dictionary, flirts with prescriptiveness in some of its usage notes.Reflecting trends in society since publication of the third edition (1992), the most visible additions to the lexicon come from technology. Hence AHD now includes the sense of dot as a synonym for period in computer jargon; a new techie sense for geek; and new entries for dot-com, e-commerce, HTML, HTTP, and URL. These are but a few of the 10,000 new senses or terms incorporated into this edition. Others (e.g., goth, personal watercraft, transgendered) come from the fields of pop culture, entertainment, sports, and business, to name a few.AHD shows two other, much more visible signs of its times. First, the thumbnail marginal illustrations have been transformed from black-and-white to color. This increases their clarity, their utility, and the value they add to definitions. Second, it comes in both print and CD-ROM formats.The CD-ROM (for Windows 95 through 2000 and NT and available for $24.95 if purchased alone) offers content almost identical to that of the print volume and many added features. Some of the illustrations in the print edition are absent from the CD (e.g., mackinaw). This is a small sacrifice for the far greater gains, one of which relates to illustrations. A search feature allows users to display only those terms that contain illustrations, and when any of these is displayed, its thumbnail illustration can be enlarged, offering even greater clarity than the color thumbnails on paper.Other features of the CD-ROM make it an attractive alternative to print, especially for personal use in situations in which it can reside more or less permanently on a PC's CD-ROM drive. A running list of entries in a frame to the left of the display window provides, with much greater precision than the printed dictionary's thumb indexing, quick access to a letter's section. In addition to the word search and A-Z scrolling display of all entries in that left-side window, the window's contents can be limited to display usage notes (usage, synonym, word histories, regional notes), Indo-European roots, Semitic roots, or (as noted) entries containing images. Most entries on the CD-ROM also include an audio icon that, when clicked, plays the word's pronunciation in an audible voice (for some words that of a male, for others that of a female). Just as the Webster's Tenth Collegiate Dictionary allows a toolbar link from Microsoft Word to the dictionary's contents, AHD provides this linkage through a right-mouse click.One other feature demonstrates the dictionary's sense of its times in the age of Internet filters and Dr. Laura controversies: when loading the CD-ROM, the user is asked whether to load the dictionary to include or exclude access to "vulgar" words. This is a latter-day sign of AHD's long willingness to apply usage labels more freely than most of its competitors. Taken by themselves, its usage labels (e.g., "slang," "vulgar") unquestionably appear to be prescriptive. However, when viewed in the context of the dictionary's usage notes, they soften and take on nuance. The usage notes depend heavily upon a large panel of writers and commentators representing diverse views. (What other group can claim both Harold Bloom and Roy Blount Jr and both Antonin Scalia and David Sedaris as members?) The notes convey the panel's uncertainties, disagreements, and qualifiers about how the words are and ought to be used. On the whole, AHD takes an old, inherently prescriptive dictionary device and uses it to describe the majority and minority opinions of a group of facile users of the language. A new category of notes, "Our Living Language," explains how language changes, for example, the reasons why the Ocracoke Island brogue is fading and the attempts to come up with euphemisms for the euphemism downsize. Approximately 1,800 notes of various sorts provide more context and more description than mere labels.When it comes to the things that users turn to a dictionary for most often--definitions, confirmation of spelling, pronunciation--AHD delivers as well as any other respected, respectable desk dictionary. Its definitions are clear and succinct, and they differentiate among senses of a word. Illustrations of words in sentences enhance selected definitions. A pronunciation key on every two-page spread of the print version is the next best thing to the audio on the CD-ROM.AHD long ago established itself as one of the standard American English dictionaries. Its improvements through expansion, refinement, and extension to the CD-ROM medium ensure its vitality and its value to a broad audience, from junior high on. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

此书辨析的多爲生活中的常用词语，如：点赞、活该、空手套白狼、拖后腿、无赖等。作者从不同角度对词语来源进行论证。例如：辨析“含桃（樱桃）”一词时，作者还用英语的cherry 和日语的“桜”进行了佐证。作者景盛轩为甘肃静宁人，选取了西北的一些方言进行辨析，如 “踩踩”（台阶）、“稠出出”（稠）、“吊股子”（长骨架）等。
毛血旺，许多人以为这是由毛肚和血旺做成的菜。其实这道菜的主料是血旺（鸭血、猪血皆可），辅料有没有毛肚都无关紧要。所以“毛”并不指毛肚。考《说文·艸部》：“芼，草覆蔓。”段注：“《毛郑诗考正》曰：‘芼，菜之烹于肉湇者也。’”“湇”，肉汁。考重庆毛血旺的做法，正是在杂碎汤里直接放入血旺烹制而成，和“菜之烹于肉湇者也”解释相合。《集韵·皓韵》：“芼，以菜和羹。”“芼”有拌和义，例如南朝梁刘孝标《送橘启》：“可以熏神，可以芼鲜，可以渍蜜。”龚自珍《己亥杂诗》之二三七：“芼以苏州小橄榄，可敌北方冬菘腌。”古代又有芼羹，指用菜和肉做成的羹。北魏贾思勰《齐民要术·羹臛法》：“食脍鱼莼羹，芼羹之菜，莼为第一。”王安石《次韵约之谢惠诗》：“闻说芼羹臛，芬香出邻壁。”“芼羹臛”是指菜肉混杂的带汁菜肴。——景盛轩《词源丛札》

本书是美国女作家依迪丝•汉密尔顿关于古希腊、罗马神话的独特解读。
神话是早期的科学，也是早期的文学。作者通过相关文学作品全面系统地对古希腊、罗马神话以及北欧神话做了细致分析。本书娓娓道来，一个个神话人物栩栩如生，是我们了解古希腊、罗马文化的不可多得的参考资料，也是了解神话知识的必然读物。
编辑推荐
我们在奥林匹斯山与希腊诸神相遇，在瓦尔哈拉殿堂与北欧诸神相逢；
我们演绎特洛伊战争和俄底修斯历险的戏剧；
我们听伊阿宋与金羊毛、丘比特与普叙刻、弥达斯国王的故事；
我们发现星座名字的起源……
《神话》是汉密尔顿的伟大杰作，所有关于神话的书都以它为标尺。
名人推荐
依迪丝•汉密尔顿（Edith Hamilton，1867—1963）出身学问世家，从小受到良好的语文教育，特别是古典教育。成年后一直从事教育工作。55岁退休后开始写作。1930年出版的《希腊精神》（The Greek Way）让她蜚声读书界。此后陆续出版了《罗马精神》（The Roman Way，1932），《以色列的先知》（The Prophets of Israel，1936），《真理的见证：基督及其诠释者》（Witness to the Truth：Christ and His Interpreters，1949），《神话》（Mythology，1942），《希腊文学的伟大时代》（The Great Age of Greek Literature，1943），《上帝的代言人》（Spokesmen for God，1949）等。每一部都基于深厚的研究，写作则面对普通读书人，行文流畅易读，让人读后受益甚丰。她还翻译了几部希腊悲剧和柏拉图的对话，也成为希腊经典英译的名篇。汉密尔顿出版最后一部主要著作《希腊的回声》(The Echo of Greece)时，已90高龄，文字仍青春蓬勃。
西方文明主要由希腊、罗马、希伯莱、基督教汇流发展而来。希腊、罗马代表此岸理性，希伯莱、基督教代表信仰。在艺术、文学、哲学、科学等精神领域，希腊人创造了无尽的奇观。在政治组织的艺术方面，在世俗生活的文明方面，罗马则为后世提供了辉煌的典范。汉密尔顿说到希腊、罗马，如数家珍。对希伯莱、基督教传统，汉密尔顿也有深入研究。在《上帝的代言人》序言中，她提到自己是以研究者的身份而非信仰者的身份来写作的。我觉得这也是个优点。宗教首先要求信仰，不过，我们不能什么都信仰，我们早已生活在多种精神传统的融会之中；心怀景慕，从多种精神传统中汲取心的光华与智的能量，是现代人，尤其现代的中国人当行之道。更多了解，更多赏慕，不宥于粗陋框架中的中西之争，岂不善哉！
我在美国读书期间，在旧书摊上买到汉密尔顿的几部书，都是一口气读完，尤喜爱《希腊精神》，读了不止一遍。后来，年轻友人葛海滨有意读一点儿希腊，我就推荐他读这本书作为入门，他读得高兴，就断断续续把它翻译出来，作为翻译练习，有些难译的句子，我也曾与他切磋。现在，华夏出版社又行一桩功德，推出这套“汉密尔顿的古典世界”丛书，包括译文经过修订的《希腊精神》。这些书，博学、明达、丰满、优雅，我相信，必有益于滋养我们的心智，必为读书人所喜。（陈嘉映）
媒体推荐
伊迪丝•汉密尔顿——“我们时代最伟大的导师和学者之一。”
——《华尔街日报》
《神话》“既可供查阅，又提供阅读的兴奋和愉悦。”
——《纽约时报书评》
一部世界知名的经典，令无数读者着迷而欣喜的作品，包含着超越时间的神与英雄们的故事。
伊迪丝•汉密尔顿的《神话》是空前的成功，作为西方文化基石的希腊、罗马以及北欧神话——那些从古至今激发着人类创造力的神和英雄们的故事——在书中变得栩栩如生。我们于奥林波斯山与希腊诸神遭遇，于瓦尔哈拉殿堂与北欧诸神相逢。我们追随演绎特洛伊战争和奥德修斯漫游的戏剧。我们听伊阿宋与金羊毛、丘比特与赛姬、大力王迈达斯的故事。我们发现星辰名字的起源。我们又发现数不清的艺术、文学和文化探究作品争相引证的要点——从弗洛伊德的俄狄浦斯情结，到瓦格纳的“指环四联剧”，再到奥尼尔的《伊莱克特拉戴孝》。《神话》的权威性和晓畅受到全世界好评，是汉密尔顿的伟大杰作——所有关于神话的书都以它为标尺。
“伊迪丝•汉密尔顿重述希腊、罗马以及北欧神话，具有可靠的品味和学术性，让这些有关人性——包括我们自己——的故事依然经久不衰却又耳目一新。”
——《纽约客》
“现时代还没有一个人像伊迪丝•汉密尔顿那样，如此生动地展现了‘希腊的荣耀与罗马的壮阔’。她从枝繁叶茂的古典文学丛中，筛选出灿烂的精华，向我们证实，两千多年以前的幽默与智慧依然适用于我们日常的生活。”
——《纽约时报》

"Millions of people want to know the origin of the words they use. Word columns in daily newspapers and numerous books attempt to satisfy their curiosity. Word histories are usually digested like pills: the user is interested in getting well, not in the chemistry of the prescribed medication. Those who send letters to the Editor also want a straight answer without bothering about how "editors" come by their knowledge. Therefore, they fail to realize that etymologies are seldom definitive and that the science of etymology is intensely interesting. Perhaps if someone explained to them that, compared to the drama of words, Hamlet is a light farce, they might develop a more informed attitude toward philological research and become students of historical linguistics rather than gullible consumers of journalists' pap." This is how Anatoly Liberman begins Etymology for Everyone, the only guide to the science and process of etymology for the layperson. This funny, charming, and conversational book not only tells the known origins of hundreds of words, but also shows how their origins were determined. Liberman, a world-renowned etymologist, takes the reader by the hand and explains the many ways that English words can be made, and the many ways in which etymologists try to unearth the origins of words. Part history, part how-to, and completely entertaining, Etymology for Everyone invites readers behind the scenes to watch an etymologist at work.

《牛津英语词源词典》共收录17000余词条，注明每一词条进入英语的确切时期，标明单词起源与初入英语时的原始拼写形式，给出意义变化较大的词条在不同阶段的简明释义，标明每一词条的归属类别。