This volume is a new compendium of Albanian etymology tracing thousands of modern Albanian words back to their origins. It contains detailed information on the Indo-European vocabulary preserved in Albanian as well as on numerous loanwords coming from ancient Greek, Latin, early Romance and Slavic.

The ancient elements of the Albanian vocabulary are used for the reconstruction of their Proto-Albanian origin and then compared with their Indo-European parallels. The history of Indo-European words and of early loanwords in Albanian shows the history and culture of the Albanian people reflected in the etymology of the Albanian language.

The book also includes a short sketch of Albanian historical phonetics and a vast bibliography. Every entry is extensively documented and contains earlier etymological explanations and interpretations.