word part dictionary?

[Barnhart]

For a very limited selection of words try:

Michael J. Sheehan.  Word Parts Dictionary: Standard and reverse
listings of prefixes, suffixes, roots and combining forms.  Jefferson
(N.C.): McFarland, 2000

The Barnhart Dictionary Companion Index 1982-85.  Cold Spring (N.Y.):
Lexik House, 1987.  The latter has a section of "Formative Elements"
that examined the words in the first four volumes of new words in the
journal.

Regards,
David K. Barnhart
barnhart at highlands.com


>OK, Why? :)
>
>A lot of times it is the case that roots that are also free morphemes &
>have individual entries in a conventional dictionary.  But I am
thinking
>of Latinate roots (and other roots of other derivations) for which
>English has not retained the discrete primary morphemes, or for which
>the free morpheme may have a significantly different meaning in
>contemporary usage.
>
>Like -
>
>vent (n, v)
>invent
>prevent
>convent
>convention
>...
>
>or
>-sum[e|p]- (what? Lat. "sumere"; I-E "em-" as a 'proto-root', acc.
AHD4)
>consume
>assumption
>subsume
>resume
>...
>
>As far as collocated particles, I am thinking primarily of
>postpositional words that function in English in a sort of similar was
>as separable prefixes do in Deutsch, and often cause those unsightly
>clause-terminal "prepositions".  Like "try on" or "clean up", where the
>particle changes the meaning of the root verb.
>
>I am thinking of a dictionary that is alphabetically sorted by -root-
or
>by -ppp (postpositional particle).
>
>Thanks for the pointers so far, please keep them coming!
>
> - Drew
>andrew.danielson at CMU.EDU,Net writes:
>Lynne Murphy wrote:
>>
>> --On Friday, May 17, 2002 1:31 pm -0400 sagehen
<sagehen at WESTELCOM.COM>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >> There is a small /Dictionary of word roots and combining forms/,
>Donald
>> J.
>> > Borror, N.P.Publications, Palo Alto, 1960. 134 pp. Lib.Cong.#
>60-15564.
>> >
>> > This is principally intended to illuminate scientific language.
>"Compiled
>> > from the Greek, Latin, and other languages, with special reference
to
>> > biological and scientific names".
>> > A. Murie
>>
>> There's also a textbook by Donald Ayers called _English words from
Latin
>> and Greek elements_  (University of Arizona Press, 1965), but it's
not
>> organised like a dictionary, nor do I think it's anywhere near
complete
>in
>> its coverage.  It was the text of a particularly easy and enjoyable
>summer
>> course I took one year.  I was assigned to do a presentation on Latin
>and
>> Greek roots in sewage terminology.  Don't ask me why...
>
>OK, Why? :)
>
>A lot of times it is the case that roots that are also free morphemes &
>have individual entries in a conventional dictionary.  But I am
thinking
>of Latinate roots (and other roots of other derivations) for which
>English has not retained the discrete primary morphemes, or for which
>the free morpheme may have a significantly different meaning in
>contemporary usage.
>
>Like -
>
>vent (n, v)
>invent
>prevent
>convent
>convention
>...
>
>or
>-sum[e|p]- (what? Lat. "sumere"; I-E "em-" as a 'proto-root', acc.
AHD4)
>consume
>assumption
>subsume
>resume
>...
>
>As far as collocated particles, I am thinking primarily of
>postpositional words that function in English in a sort of similar was
>as separable prefixes do in Deutsch, and often cause those unsightly
>clause-terminal "prepositions".  Like "try on" or "clean up", where the
>particle changes the meaning of the root verb.
>
>I am thinking of a dictionary that is alphabetically sorted by -root-
or
>by -ppp (postpositional particle).
>
>Thanks for the pointers so far, please keep them coming!
>
> - Drew
>