“Originary”
The Word Origin Dictionary

An Online Dictionary of the English Language
Based on the Root Origins of Words

The Need for Funding for “Originary,” the Word Origin Dictionary Project

The development of any large book, such as a dictionary, is a daunting undertaking. Therefore, having help from contributors is necessary in order to complete the project in a reasonable amount of time. The Originary project is in need of the intellectual labor of people who are knowledgeable and skilled in the use of the English language, and other languages, to create, add to, and edit the entries. With the help of talented and motivated contributors, this dictionary can and hopefully will be completed.

Introduction

The purpose of the Word Origin Dictionary is to expose the user to the wealth of words and their origins. It is intended for the more passionate student of English, those interested in linguistics, and those who are simply curious about where words come from. It is expected that it will help the user to gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the meanings of words and an expansion of the user’s vocabulary.

The Word Origin Dictionary Project, which I have given the name “Originary,” is meant to be a vehicle to aid in writing the dictionary based on word origins in much less time than it would take for one person to accomplish such a monumental task. 

The word origin dictionary I have envisioned is one that I have worked on for two solid years, and have written the framework or outline for already. What is needed is to fill in the definitions by carefully writing them based upon a particular method and order which I have formulated based upon the goal of listing the words that come from a particular root word in the order in which they appeared, thereby showing their historical, cultural, linguistic, and logical evolution. I have also formulated a list of dictionaries and encyclopedias to be used and the order in which they should be referenced in writing the definitions. In this way, the words defined build upon one another, and each word that appears is based upon the previous word or words and gains some nuances of meaning from them and adds some nuances of meaning to them. The student of English will gain immensely in terms of understanding the word, or words, in terms of the actual grasp they will have on the meaning, or meanings. Also, they will gain immensely from the mnemonic aid that comes from reading words that are spelled and pronounced similarly, and which have similar and related meanings; and in this way, will be able to build a larger and more powerful vocabulary.

Each entry in the Word Origin Dictionary will be listed under the ultimate root word, or “etymon,” from which it is derived. For this reason, the words will be listed in simple, alphabetical order on a “Word List” page of the website and will contain hyperlinks; so, when the user clicks on a word in the Word List, they will be taken to the word and its definition where it appears under its root word, and among its related words in its “word family.” As mentioned, is from root words, or etymons, that other words are formed or derived. In rare cases, some words stand alone with no other words derived from them. A good example of an etymon is the Latin word aedes, -is, which means “building.” From aedes, -is, the following words are derived:

aedile (i’-d  l”;id’- l) n. a civil official in ancient Rome who superintended public buildings, among other duties

edifice (ed’- -f s) n. 1. a building, esp. a large stately one 2. an abstract organization

edify (ed’-  -f  ”) v.t. [orig. sense from I Cor. 14, etc.: to build up the church and/or the soul toward moral and spiritual perfection] to instruct and improve morally and spiritually   ~ing ( -ing –[international phonetic symbols to be used]) a. 

In the Word Origin Dictionary, as previously mentioned, the words that are derived from the root word are to be presented in the order in which they were first used or recorded. In this way, the linguistic evolution of the words will be made easily apparent to the user of the dictionary. Also, there is the added benefit of showing how the different words and meanings have evolved from a previous word. Ultimately, the evolutionary pattern of many words in the English language are similar to a family tree pattern, such as the ones used in family genealogy charts. 

There is no way to know for certain when many words were first spoken or written, or first came into usage. Nonetheless, through the centuries, writers of word lists, dictionaries, and encyclopedias have labored to estimate the precise time that such words first came into usage. Especially as pertains to very old words, “word historians” have had to make their best guesses as to when they first came into existence and how certain etymons and other words were spelled and pronounced. They have accomplished this based on their knowledge of the languages that the words came from; from the patterns of their syntax, grammar, pronunciation, and definitions.

Advantages of Using a Derivational Dictionary

The use of a derivational dictionary in the early years of language study may not be suitable for all. To this author’s knowledge, the effect on students of the use of such a language learning method from an early age has not been studied in depth. This is an area that is of interest and merits study. In any case, the study of language through the use of a derivational dictionary is certainly of value to any student of language who has reached a certain age and level of competency in their reading and writing.

For a student of English, there are two primary advantages to using a derivational, as opposed to a conventional, dictionary. The first is to study the definitions of words in such as way as to better be able to memorize and retain the words. This is accomplished through the use of associations or mnemonic devices. The second purpose is to learn and retain more words, as with the learning of the definition of one word comes the learning of more words and their definitions. The words that are derived from a root word, or etymon, may be seen as belonging to a “family” of words having a common ancestor.  

An additional advantage to studying definitions from a derivational dictionary is that the student may also see that many etymons have “brother” or “sister” etymons in related languages. This gets the student of English into the area of linguistics, as it involves relationships between words of different languages. However, the same general rules of syntax, grammar, pronunciation, and spelling apply to all languages. The main advantage to this is that a student may come into contact with more than one root language, and in doing so, develop an appreciation of the inherent similarity, as well as the rich diversity, of all languages.

The student of English can even envision, in the distant future, a naturally developed “world language” that will perhaps evolve as a “pidgin” language from the world’s languages; while the individual languages retain their individual characters. Esperanto is an example of a world language that exists today and is studied and used by many people. However, it is a synthetically developed language. Another is international sign language, which is not communicated through sound but through sight, and also through the sense of touch. 

“Originary”
Word Origin Dictionary Project
Angela Bellacosa, Editor
Originary; Originary.org
10 Editing Lane; 10editinglane.com
Seattle, Washington
206-380-2278
E-mail address: angela@Originary.org;
angela@10editinglane.com

Copyright © 2024 Originary.net

Timeline to Tyranny is a work in progress. I work on it as I have time away from my many other writing projects and various tasks. I’ve made it available for your perusal at Medium.com (https://angelabellacosa.medium.com/timeline-to-tyranny-87ce6dbf8193).

From the Introduction:

The Colonists had been waging the American War of Independence since April 19, 1775. On July 4th, 1776, at the Second Continental Congress, the representatives of the thirteen colonies adopted The Declaration of Independence. Through this document, the colonists’ declared their independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain and stated their reason for doing so.

Today, at this critical juncture in American history, almost 250 years since the American colonists bravely fought the American Revolutionary War, which they won in 1783, we present-day Americans find ourselves in the oppressive and exploitative situation of having been re-colonized, in a sense, by a new cast of ultra-wealthy, elitist, authoritarian rulers.

***

The billionaire oligarchs and their predecessors, who have been working successfully for several decades, in the present era of extreme corruption and extreme inequality (i.e., since the JFK assassination/coup of 1963), to gradually rob us of our constitutional rights, freedoms, and protections, and thereby obtain tyrannical control over our political, economic, and social systems — including our elections, media, educational system, and industry — are dragging the rest of us with them as they rush headlong toward the abyss of total destruction. This abyss has the features of extreme global warming, the sixth mass extinction of species, endless war and militarization and mass surveillance, growing numbers of increasingly large and rapacious monopolies and oligopolies, dangerous levels of industrial and military chemical toxins in the environment, an agricultural system that produces increasingly unhealthy food and is increasingly polluting and destructive to the wholesomeness and fertility of farmland, inhumanely underfunded healthcare and other social safety net programs, the ongoing crisis of the 600,000-plus homeless population, an insanely underfunded and mismanaged education system, and a broken justice system along with a swollen mass incarceration system.

***

For the purpose of this book, the ultimate question is: why do people continue, after so many millennia of history, religion, philosophy, and science relating to this phenomenon, continue to allow the ultra-wealthy sociopaths and narcissists to seize power and take over their governments and societies?

Why do people allow history to repeat itself in this manner still today? Why do the people allow the pendulum to swing back, and forth, and back again? How can the pendulum simply be stopped at the optimal position in this maddening and repetitive cycle? How can it be that people never seem to figure out that the pattern is predictable, and figure out ways to stop the pendulum at some optimal position where the people have optimal levels of freedom, justice, equality, general well-being, and the opportunity to reach their potential? These things are basic to people’s natural desires. Why do people start forgetting their own history? Why do people start forgetting and ignoring the dangers that lie in wait to take away their rights and freedoms? And once the wolves have begun attacking and destroying the people’s natural rights and freedoms, why do people wait till their pain is so great as to be intolerable before they will mobilize into full revolt to restore them?

From the Foreword:

The purpose of this book of prayers and meditations, Prayers and Meditations for 12-Steppers, is to strengthen the member of any 12-step program in their spiritual growth by giving them some quotes from spiritual literature to read and meditate over. The emphasis is, as it is in the 12-step programs, on spirituality – in particular, gaining and maintaining conscious contact with and a dependence upon one’s Higher Power, as they are understood by the member. The book is organized in order of the steps/principles of Alcoholics Anonymous; but a member of any other 12-step program may substitute the words which apply to their 12-step program for “alcohol” and “alcoholism.”

The steps and principles (virtues, listed above each step in the text) are as follows:

Honesty

Step 1. We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.

Hope

Step 2. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Faith

Step 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.

Courage

Step 4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Integrity

Step 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

Willingness

Step 6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

Humility

Step 7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

Brotherly Love

Step 8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

Justice

Step 9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Perseverance

Step 10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

Spirituality

Step 11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

Service

Step 12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Art Smart
Artis longa; vita brevis.

A game for art connoisseurs and art lovers that tests the players’ knowledge of famous art works of all different periods, styles, countries, and artists.

Suggested ages:
Adult edition: Ages 18 and up
Juvenile edition: Ages 13-17
Children’s edition: Ages 8-12