De·foe  (d ĭ-f ō), Daniel 1660-1731.
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English writer whose most famous novel, Robinson Crusoe (1719), was inspired by the exploits of a Scottish sailor and castaway, Alexander Selkirk. He also wrote Moll Flanders and A Journal of the Plague Year (both 1722).  (click for a larger image) Daniel Defoecolor engraving by James Tookey (fl. early 1800s) |
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Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
Semitic Roots
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
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