Dictionary of Word Origins

by L. Flavell (Author), R.H. Flavell (Editor)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1995

  $3.25

  Aimed at both word-puzzle enthusiasts and language students, this is a companion to Dictionary of Idioms and Dictionary of Proverbs , and is by the same authors. It contains over 500 entries on common words ( boycott , tawdry , candidate ), their origins and their histories, and many other words are detailed in cross-references. In some instances the development of the word is illustrated with tree-diagrams showing its progress - for example, from Greek to Latin to Old French to English. The diagrams also highlight those offshoots which developed into other, often seemingly unconnected words. Throughout the book there are mini-essays on general topics, including sources, derivations and common themes such as words for plants, or for cloth.

• Used

  Paperback
  2004

  $3.25

  Words are the building blocks of language, but their derivations are often stories in themselves. Have you ever wondered why we wear perfume, read magazines, vote for candidates, speak in jargon? Sometimes the origin of a word can be pinpointed with great accuracy - sputnik entered the English language (and many other languages around the world) on the day the Russian spacecraft was launched in 1957. Others are vaguer - butterfly goes back at least a thousand years and, sadly, there is no evidence that the creature was ever called a flutterby. With entries from assassin to villain, bankrupt to sterling, cigar to tobacco, Linda and Roger Flavell explain the origins of 300 commonly used words.