Turning his keen linguistic eye toward various influences on the Syriac language, Lagarde he addresses the various Persian, Armenian, and Indic words that occur in Syriac literature. Arranged alphabetically according to the Syriac spelling of the words, Lagarde ably addresses 222 loan words with frequently detailed entries tracing roots of the words back through their linguistic pedigree. For the scholar of comparative Semitic philology who is interested in the wider background and origins of these specific words, this booklet will prove to be a powerful and much-used tool. Lagarde’s reputation for painstaking research shows through in each entry of this quintessential contribution.

Paul Anton de Lagarde (born Paul Boetticher, 1827-1891) was a biblical scholar and student of ancient languages. Having studied at Berlin, Halle, London, and Paris, he had a wide exposure to international thought. He eventually taught at Göttingen. Despite his participation in the anti-Semitism of his day, he was a gifted student of Semitic languages. His voluminous linguistic works are still recognized for their insights into oriental languages. He made important contributions to the study of Syriac, Aramaic, Arabic, Hebrew, and Coptic, as well as Greek and Latin.