We need to study etymology to determine the true meaning of words and their functions in a sentence. Etymology has no place in a general-purpose dictionary, and it should be left to historical or specialist dictionaries. Learners' dictionaries do not contain etymological information, though its exclusion from these dictionaries has been challenged (Ellegård 1978; Ilson 1983). Of the three Collins dictionaries.

1. Why Etymology?

2. • We need to study etymology to determine the true meaning of words and
their functions in a sentence.
• etymology has no place in a general-purpose dictionary, and it should be left
to historical or specialist dictionaries. Learners' dictionaries do not contain
etymological information, though its exclusion from these dictionaries has
been challenged (Ellegård 1978; Ilson 1983). Of the three Collins
dictionaries.

3. • the smallest, the Pocket, does not contain etymologies, but the two larger
ones do. It was only half a century or so after the first monolingual English
dictionary that etymologies began to be included in dictionaries so they have
a long pedigree.
• Hudson ( 1988 ) - includes etymology among the ' lexical facts about words
that dictionaries should pay attention to But there is little evidence that users
routinely resort to a dictionary for this information.

4. • The dictionaries have a double function as a record of the vocabulary of the
language, i.c. a lexical description, and as a reference work to meet the needs
of users for information about words and their usage.
• On neither count is the inclusion of etymology uncontroversially obvious a
record, a dictionary describes the contemporary vocabulary it omits obsolete
words and meanings and marks as ' archaic ' those whose currency is
beginning to wane

5. • As a reference work, a dictionary does not have the space to give a full
account of the etymology of words, such as might be found in a historical
dictionary,
• • Moreover, the etymological information is probably the hardest of all the
parts of a dictionary entry to decode, needing as it does some background
knowledge in history, and specifically in the history of languages.

6. • • Sidney Landau expresses the opinion that of all the elements included in
modern dictionaries, etymology has the least to do with the essential purpose
of a synchronic dictionary' (2001: 127) Etymology does not make a
contribution to the description of the contemporary meaning and usage of
words : it may help to illuminate how things have got to where they are now ,
but it is as likely to be

7. • Etymology offers no advice to one who consults a dictionary on the
appropriate use of a word in the context of a written text or spoken
discourse
• It merely provides some insight for the interested dictionary browser with
the requisite background knowledge and interpretative skills.
• On this perspective, Landau is right: etymology does not have the same
status as other elements of lexical description in a dictionary

8. • • Etymology could be Siad to be part of dictionary information by historical
accident.
• The "hard words' tradition, which started monolingual dictionaries in
English, included only words that had been borrowed, mostly from the
classical languages. It was only a short step to included systematically their
language of origin, as indeed dictionaries had done to an extent from the
beginning

9. • • Combined with the increasing interest in cultural and linguistic history that
flourished during the eighteenth century, etymology became firmly established in
the tradition of monolingual dictionaries. Dictionary making does have its own
tradition, its own set of principles and conventions, which are to a large extent
independent of those associated with other branches of linguistic scholarship.
• • It is only recently , in the last quarter of the twentieth century, that the discipline
of linguistics has exercised any major influence on the processes of dictionary
making , on this perspective , it is not surprising that etymology continues to be an
element of the information given for words , at least in the larger general - purpose
dictionaries

10. • • Radical departures from the expected content and format of dictionaries are undertaken reluctantly by
publishers purchaser expectations have to be met
• There is perhaps, one further and sounder reason for the inclusion of etymological information in
monolingual dictionaries of English at least. It arises from the nature of the English vocabulary,
• The sources of English words are so diverse, with such a small proportion being ‘ongnal’ Anglo -Saxon,
and so many being borrowed from a range of other languages, that there would seem to be some
justification for providing information at least about the immediate origin of a word.
• In this way, the users of the language can see how their vocabulary has been constituted.
• • It is a means of celebrating the diversity of the English lexicon, and it should guard against any temptation
to linguistic xerophobia or notions of linguistic purity

11. • Presented By :
Amenadaaboul , SajidaMansour , Shifraadnan jbrel
• Supervisedby :
Dr. Khaleel B. Al-Bataineh
• Department of Englishlanguage & Transaltion