The Insect That Stole Butter: Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.67 (637 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0199547920 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 502 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-02-23 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Julia Cresswell is an experienced author and language researcher, having worked on the 4th edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Books to her credit include Naming Your Baby: The Definitive Dictionary of First Names, and The Cat's Pyjamas: The Penguin Book of Cliches.
Sunday Times . This Oxford dictionary of word origins will get a lot of use from a language-loving relative
"Great walk through word etymology!" according to M. Baker. Recently received this book as a gift from my daughter (she know I love to read any kind of reference book). What a great book! Beyond the origins of 100's of words, there is a great etymon list in the front that give some of the origins and meaning of commonly used prefixes and suffixes. There are also special sections dedicated to words originating with specific cultures (Dutch, Arabic, etc.). There is another book by the same editor called 'From the Horses Mouth' that deals with idiom origins. As soon as I finish this one, I getting that one!. Karen B. Graham said Fun Resource. This is a fun book and will be a good resource to look up word origins.
We learn, for instance, that "abracadabra," just a fun word said by magicians today, was once believed to actually be a magic word that was supposed to be a charm against fever and was often engraved on an amulet worn around the neck. And we also discover the curious history of the word "ache," whose noun form was once pronounced "aitch" and whose verb form was spelled "ake," while the modern word is spelled like the old noun but pronounced like the old verb. Drawing on Oxford's unrivalled dictionary research program and language monitoring, this fascinating volume captures the often odd and unexpected stories behind many of our most curious expressions, offering a rich account that far exceeds what can be found in a general dictionary. Also featured are almost 20 special panels that cover expressions common in English but drawn from other languages, such as "coffee," "sugar," and "candy" from Arabic or "booze," "brandy," and "gin" (Dutch). Indeed, this alphabetically organized resource contains a wealth of information on the history of English words, in a delightful roadmap tracing the