Latin Suffixal Derivatives in English And Their Indo-European Ancestry

This is the fullest account ever published of Latin suffixes in English. It explores the rich variety of English words formed by the addition of one or more Latin suffixes, such as -ial, -able, -ability, -ible, and -id. It traces the histories of over 3,000 words, revealing the range of derivational patterns in Indo-European, Latin, and English. It describes the different kinds of suffixes, shows how they entered English via different channels at different times, and considers the complexity of competition between native and borrowed forms. The author examines postclassical, medieval, and early modern Latin derivatives, and demonstrates that Latin is still, and likely to remain, a productive source of English words. He traces the suffixes back to their Proto-Indo-European origins and provides copious examples for every aspect of his discussion.

Professor Miller's innovative book makes an important contribution to the history of both English and Latin morphology and etymology, as well as to the history of suffixal derivation in Indo-European. It will interest scholars and students of comparative morphology, historical and comparative linguistics, etymology, and lexicography.

D. Gary Miller is Professor of Linguistics and Classics at the University of Florida. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1969, with a dissertation on Studies in Some Forms of the Genitive Singular in Indo-European. As well as numerous articles on Indo-European, classical, and general linguistics, his publications include Homer and the Ionian Epic Tradition (1982), Improvization, Typology, Culture, and 'The New Orthodoxy': How 'Oral' is Homer? (1982), Complex Verb Formation (1993), Ancient Scripts and Phonological Knowledge (1994), Nonfinite Structures in Theory and Change (2002), and the two-volume work Language Change and Linguistic Theory (2011).