Ologies and Isms: A Dictionary of Word Beginnings and Endings by Michael Quinion
Aquaculture; Haemophilia; Isochronous; Neuralgia; Polyunsaturated; Rodenticide - How often do we see a technical word without quite knowing what it means? If we can decipher it-undo its language code - we can start to understand others of a similar kind. "Ologies and Isms" is about the building blocks of the English language - the beginnings and endings, and sometimes the middles - that help form or adapt many of the words we use. Whether you're a student or a practitioner, a teacher of English, an inveterate word-user, or just a seeker-out of linguistic trifles, "Ologies and Isms" will help you understand better the language of your workplace and the world around you. It contains over 10,000 examples within 1,250 entries. Selective thematic index breaks prefixes and suffixes down by theme, eg. biochemistry and drugs, living world, places and people. It is also useful for crossword and word game lovers.