In the tradition of that great lover of words, Samuel Johnson, Douglas Harper (an amateur etymologist) has compiled one of the first free online etymology dictionaries. The etymologies are compiled in alphabetical order and parsed into smaller sections for easy viewing. As Mr. Harper notes in the introduction to the dictionary, "Think of it like looking at pictures of your friends' parents when they were your age. People will continue to use words as they will, finding new or wider meaning for old words and coining new ones to fit new situations." The homepage of the dictionary also contains a list of abbreviations that will come in handy when looking over the etymologies, which include such interesting terms as "Ps and Qs" and "pandemonium." The dictionary also features a search engine and should be greatly appreciated by students and teachers alike.
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