Product Description
GREAT BOOK TO INCREASE YOUR VOCABULARY POWER & CULTURE~FANTASTIC BOOK OF WORDS & THEIR MEANING~ ... Read more

Product Description
The longest collection of word and phrase origins. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Word Nerds will love this calendar!
As a former English teacher, I love words, especially word origins.This calendar includes interesting words--some you hear every day, including brand names and expressions, but also some "vocabulary" words and words imported from other languages.The latest version (2010) also includes bonus trivia and puzzles on the back of every page.365 days of fun and learning!

Clever Word Origin Calendar
Purchased for my daughter's history/word-loving teacher.She loves it!The kids take turns pulling the word/phrase of the day off the pad and they all discuss it.

Excellent!
I wish this item was easier to find in stores. It is a sought-after favorite for my classroom desk. ... Read more

Product Description
1st edition paperback Dictionary of 8000 English word origins ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A veritable lexicon of delicious words
In boxing books from two bookcases in my guest bedroom, I am re-discovering books I haven't used in ages, then recovering from the discovery enough to write reviews of these almost-forgotten gems. Up first is "Arcade Dictionary of Word Origins: The Histories of More Than 8000 English-Language Words" by John Ayto.

I love etymologies! In fact, I loved the ancient mysteries and histories of words so much that I was willing to haul all my etymology books from home to school where I would teach a unit on word histories in my senior English classes. Even if those young people on-the-verge-of-becoming-adults didn't love etymologies, too, that was OK with me, as long as they understood our human connectedness in language development.

Our language, English, in fact, is a conglomeration of three distinct languages: Latin, French, and German, or the language of the Roman Catholic Church, the Norman (French/Viking/Latin) Conquest of England, and the immigration of Old Germanic peoples--Angles, Jutes, and Saxons from the Denmark and North Germanic area of Europe. Ayton's explanation of the contributions of each people and language in creating the English language is worth the price of the book.

But, of course, the real reason for the book is its etymologies and my reason for obtaining it. I also must note that I rarely bought a reference book that I didn't use in my teaching. I would gather enough from my personal library and the school library to distribute to students, usually two per book, for a hands-on lesson in word histories.

At random here are a few curiosities:
"caviare"--origin is Turkish from "khavyar'; it spread from Turkish to a number of European languages, including Italian "caviale" and the French "caviar"; the oddity is that although the word refers to a Russian delicacy, the Russian word is "ikra."

"otter"--or water-animal; originally "udros" or Indo-European, source also of "hudra" or water-snake with the best example of Hydra, or the many-headed Hydra killed by Hercules. Remember this also referred to water. In German the descendant word was "otraz" which became "otter."

"prophylactic" comes from the Greek "prophulaktikos"--literally meant "keep guard in front of a place or "take precautions against." Most amusing.

Closer to my life's work as an English teacher is "prose"-- its etymology refers to a "straight-forward discourse" and comes from the Old French "prose" from Latin "prosa." Now there's one that is straight-forward!

... Read more

Product Description

See into the past and discover how English evolved from more than 350 languages.

In this fanciful book about etymology, 15-year-old Jill Boswell and her 13-year-old brother, Alex, are sent to summer camp in a bizarre badlands region -- the only place in the world where words are fossilized in rock. Armed with water bottles, spades and backpacks, the campers hike from ridge to ridge in search of their ancient quarry. The budding word hounds soon realize they are on an amazing journey of discovery.

Traveling through the mountains of fossilized words -- from ancient Greece (television, demon, gorilla, catastrophe) to Spain (mosquito, ten-gallon, burrito) and from the language of the Goths (heathen, home, haunt) to Dutch (booze, dock, pickle, cookie) -- they find that even current words like podcast and gossip originated hundreds of years ago!

Illustrations by Kathryn Adams capture the fun of the word expedition and celebrate the joy of language sleuthing.

Product Description
For non-native speakers of Chinese, learning to write Chinese can be one of the most challenging aspects of the language; learners are often asked to memorize characters by simply writing them over and over again, without a basic understanding of their meanings.

The Way of Chinese Characters offers a more efficient approach to character learning that is fun and accessible, yet grounded in solid academic research. Four hundred of the most basic Chinese characters are presented, each with a concise introduction to its classification and evolution, plus insightful comments about the character's significance in Chinese culture. Illustrations of early writing forms help learners visualize the character's evolution, and cartoon drawings serve as helpful mnemonic devices.

This book is ideal for teachers and learners of Chinese at all levels. The characters presented correspond to the vocabulary introduced in Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1, making this a perfect character-learning companion for students of Integrated Chinese. This bilingual book displays entries in traditional characters, simplified characters, and English. Paragraphs explaining each entry are in traditional characters and English. An appendix contains explanatory text in simplified characters.

The Way of Chinese Characters will help learners understand and remember Chinese characters, thereby laying a foundation for long-term success in reading and writing Chinese. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not helpful for language learning IMHO.
I have no doubt that the origins of characters as presented are scholarly and correct, and the book is appealing in its graphics and presentation.
But if you are looking for help in memorizing the Chinese characters I don't recommend this book.
The descriptions of the characters are not helpful in providing any aids to memory.
This book is for "learning about Chinese" rather than learning Chinese.
That is it provides interesting facts and background but it won't help with mastering the reading, writing, and remembering the characters.

An ideal and strongly recommended addition to personal and academic Chinese Language reference collections
With its pictograph characters, Chinese is a vastly different written language from those of European derivation such as English. For students of Chinese, this newly expanded edition of "The Way of Chinese Characters: The Origins of 400 Essential Words" compiled by Jianhsin Wu, and profusely illustrated throughout by the team of Chen Zheng and Chen Tian, is correlated with "Integrated Chinese" and ideal for use as a text because it provides the student with a basic understanding of the meaning of the four hundred most commonly encountered characters showcased in eleven lessons. Enhanced with an appendix (Explanations in Simplified Characters), a character index by lessons, a character index by pinyin, and character indices for both traditional and simplified strokes, "The Way Of Chinese Characters" is an ideal and strongly recommended addition to personal and academic Chinese Language reference collections and supplemental instruction curriculums. ... Read more

Product Description
Written in a witty, conversational style, Webster's New Explorer Dictionary of Word Origins describes how some common and not-so-common words entered the English language and how their meanings evolved. Some, likeicicleandwiseacre, came to us from other languages and have been transformed to create new words. Others, likeworkaholic,were coined only recently. The histories of these words are among many fascinating stories of how language is shaped by people and events. An invaluable resource for students and amateur etymologists alike, this volume provides both useful information and entertaining reading. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Love it!
I got this book because I love learning and I had never learned about etymology so I was interested. What I found was facinating. It's odd but when you start to learn more about the words we use, how they come to be, and where they come from, you start to learn more about people in general. After a while you start looking at words in a whole new light. You start taking them apart and analizing each section and knowing that there is more to it than the meaning we use on the surface. Take the word DECIMATE. Why does it begin whith DECI which clearly means the number ten. You find out why in this book. This is a great book to start out with and you may find yourself addicted to it later on.

i like it a lot!
I have so far enjoyed shuffling through the pages of this book. I think it will be very useful and also entertaining :)

Etymology sort of ho hum
I love learning the origins of words.This was a very fun read, but somewhat limited, as would be expected for a smaller volume.Great choice for a starter book on word origins.

Features the histories of more than 1,500 English words
Created and published in cooperation with the Editors of Merriam-Webster, this bargain edition of Webster's New Explorer Dictonary Of Word Origins features the histories of more than 1,500 English words. Presenting its alphabetically arranged entries in a down-to-earth, conversational style, cross-referenced for easy lookup and supplemented with a brief history of the English language, Webster's New Explorer Dictonary Of Word Origins is as amusing a resource as it is useful, for students and bibliophiles alike. Especially recommended for anyone striving to enhance their English vocabulary, since the background stories behind the words make for especially interesting mnemonics and other means to keep their definitions in mind.
... Read more

Product Description
"Acorn" has nothing to do with "corn". So many of the words we use and take for granted have no bearing on what their spellings suggest they were derived from. Word scholars and general readers alike will find this collection of the origins of nearly 1200 words fascinating. The book offers hours of satisfying reading and is an indispensable reference for anyone curious about the English language. ... Read more

Product Description
While there are many diatribes against the modern Word of Faith Movement and as many defenses of it, little scholarly work has investigated, analyzed, and compared and contrasted modern faith teaching with earlier evangelical writers. Only Believe is such a ground-breaking book written for non-specialists and scholars. Among its many accomplishments, Only Believe . . . * theologically engages both the teachings of the Word of Faith Movement and their critics, examining from the unique viewpoint of the elliptical nature of truth the counter-polarities of faith teaching and practice; * traces the origins of faith teachings such as revelation knowledge, logos and rhema, point of contact, seed faith, faith as a law and a force, covenant rights and inheritance, positive confession, and attitudes toward doctors and medicine through the church fathers, mystics, reformers, Pietists, Puritans, and the 19th-century Wesleyan, Keswick, and Higher Life holiness and healing movements; * draws upon the faith teachings and practices of a wide variety of theological and denominational backgrounds: Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian/Reformed, Episcopalian/Anglican, Lutheran, Congregationalist, holiness, Brethren, Catholic, Pentecostal/charismatic, and many others; * highlights positive, balanced principles and models of faith of respected evangelical leaders, guiding the reader away from questionable teaching and practice and yet encouraging a walk by faith that is both strong and sound; * contains a treasure house of preaching, teaching, Bible study, examples of faith, and research material. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

ONLY BELIVE --- AN EXCELLENT BOOK!
Dr. Paul King does an amazing job at illustrating the fundamental beliefs of the Word of Faith movement by detailing its roots all the way back to the 2nd century and Cyril of Jerusalem as well as other church fathers. Many people think that the Word of Faith and the Charismatic movements are steeped in cultic practices and mysticism, however, Dr. King skillfully articulates that even classic evangelical leaders from all denominations shared many of the same beliefs. Pioneers such as D.L Moody, Charles Spurgeon (both Baptists), A.B. Simpson (Presbyterian), and on and on. Dr. King also illustrates how some of the critics such as John Macarthur, and Gordon Fee have not done all their research at times to understand that most of these contemporary practices and beliefs go back to the 2nd century. He does however, agree with the critics in instances when some of our contemporary faith leaders take it a bit far or do not explain their points so that there can be no misunderstanding as to God being the sovereign and the source of everything good, and that mans faith is to be in all Jesus has done not their own works. At first, I thought that this book was going to bash the Word of Faith like other trash on the market; however, I was pleased to see that there was a fair and balanced message delivered that cautioned excess and backed up Scripture. The book gave fresh insight and showed that Kenyon, Hagin, Robert's, and Copeland are not all frauds trying to create "a different Gospel", but in fact gleaned truths from earlier respected pioneers of the faith!!! I would highly recommend this book!!! Great Job Dr. King!!!

Pastor Mike Vidaurri
Morro Bay, California
... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Minimum interest in places.
The destruction of any language comes through misuse of words and grammar - something currently being accelerated by so-called "text speak" (sic!). When such blatant misuse comes from a book purporting to be a "Dictionary" and from no less a publisher than Cassell, one has to take a stand. On the front cover of this offering, three separate words are placed together as a single entity to create "wordandphrase" when no such word exists. In addition, when I went to school, people's names were spelled with capital leading letters, whereas, in this instance, we have author "nigel rees". Not good enough Nigel. Not good enough Cassell - especially for a Dictionary! Not only does this give the impression you would pronounce, for example, "battle" as "ba'ew" in your everyday speech, it suggests you are ill-equipped to provide any literary advice or guidance whatsoever. It is only by setting standards that we maintain standards in all we do. Of course, the lazy will suggest this is nothing more than language evolution...

So, whilst I may now be accused of being either a purist or simply "picky-picky", I can only ask; "ow wud u like it if my revew woz writ like this?" I should imagine, you would quickly move one and that is exactly what I wanted to do as soon as I started considering the content.

Whilst the origins of many words and phrases are of considerable interest to writers of all descriptions, do we really need to know the origin of; Denim, for goodness sake, lynch mob, kick-start, read the riot act, and so many more - or did we know them already?

This was an opportunity to add some interesting facts, a touch of humour, a degree of "wow I never knew that" and plenty of human interest. Instead we have a book which is padded out with the obvious leaving that which we might seek to learn, deeply hidden. As such, I fear the product will never be consulted - not even by those who own a copy.

NM

... Read more

Product Description
These cartoons illustrate the etymology of medical terms, especially the names forparts of the human body such as muscle. The word muscle originally meant "little mouse".Supposedly, the ancients thought that contracting muscles looked like little micerunning under the skin.

What does the little bump on the earcalled the "tragus", which means "goat", have to do with goats?

See the cartoon below. (My audiologist loved this one). ... Read more

Product Description
320 Pages ... Read more

Product Description
Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This edition ofWORD HISTORIES is a revision and enlargement of a volume which was originally published in England in 1935. FOREWORD: Words, like individuals, have their histories. English words, for the most part, are either direct translations, or descendants, so to speak, from an other language, or are Anglo-Saxon words, used today substantially in the same sense as they were in pre-Norman days. As the scope of this volume is necessarily limited, the words listed include mainly those that have wandered, in varying de grees, from their original meanings. For example, the title Duke is omitted because it is directly descended from French due, which in turn is from Latin dux, ducis, a leader. On the other hand Lady justifies its place here for the reason that its progenitor is Anglo-Saxon hlaefdige, a kneader of the loaf, the woman who prepared bread for the oven. The social climbing of such a word furnishes a temptation to refer to its development as its genealogy and to forget that the science of word origins is etymology. The words in this volume were assembled to satisfy a curiosity aroused by a study of Old English, particularly in connection with researches made into Anglo-Saxon laws and charters. It was during the course of such a study that the many engaging word personalities attracted my interest, and with the enthusiasm of a collector, I have yielded to the temptation of including other specimens encountered during many years of the practice of law, where the background of a word seemed to war rant it. PREFACE: Old English, or Anglo-Saxon, is a language which f ew would now understand. With its roots in Teu tonic soil, it developed under the Roman invasion, and was nourished by the subsequent overrunning of the British Isles by the Danes, the Angles, the Saxons and other races of northwest continental Europe. The greatest changes in the language were, however, those that followed the battle of Hastings and the business-like conquest of all things Anglo-Saxon that commenced with the Doomsday Survey. The briefest study of the development of English from the advent of William until the death of Elizabeth will produce sufficient evidence to dis close that the Normans were victorious in 1066 and continued in power without reference being had to a political history of England. With the Normans came a new political and social structure new rules of law, new land tenures, a new administration of Justice, a new ruling class in time, practically everything was changed and new words were used to describe and define the new order, which, however, continued to center about the King, whose title remained an Anglo-Saxon word, and one that the conquered English could understand. Evidence of the conquest ap peared in all the words thereafter introduced by the French to describe the Norman sovereignty and to embellish the dignity of the conqueror. In this group of words are palace, duke, throne, realm, royalty, regal, homage, sceptre, reign, sovereign and chancellor. Prince and count and duchess are of continental origin, but King and Queen were names long before used by the rulers of the British tribes. Few titles of great dignity have developed from the homely beginnings of the Anglo-Saxon social struc ture. Conspicuous as exceptions to this rule, for their lowly origin are the titles Lord and Lady, one, in Anglo-Saxon times, the guardian of the loaf and his wife the kneader of the dough or loaf. Quite naturally the English became the serving and the working class and in the kitchen and the field we find preserved the words which those who served there could understand. ... Read more

Product Description
Take an enchanting tour through the tangled roots of English

Quick, what is the common denominator of the following words: onion, twinkle, travel, squad, foist, semester, October, noon, and dicker?By the time you finish reading Dubious Doublets, the answer will be as obvious to you as the relationship between lettuce and galaxy, nostril and thrill, or witch and vegetable!

This surprising, enlightening, and entertaining guide uses a delightfully innovative approach to explore the evolution, lineage, and proliferation of words. Beginning with pairs of seemingly unrelated modern English words–dubious doublets–the author traces them back through the millennia to reveal not only their common roots, but also the living thoughts that form the true links between these improbable pairs.

You’ll discover, for example, why the words flamenco and flamingo are both related to the complexions of the Dutch, how the biblical son of Isaac is related to a French garment and a Halloween decoration, and what going berserk has to do with playing hopscotch. You'll also uncover the common roots of such seemingly incompatible dyads as bully/friar, muscle/mouse, and everyone’s favorite, feather/hippopotamus.

Richly supplemented with cultural anecdotes, literary excerpts, and lively discussions on a broad variety of relevant topics–not to mention a series of whimsical illustrations that offer intriguing clues to word origins–Dubious Doublets is, quite simply, a word buff’s delight. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Edelstein serves up a feast of wordplay for us all
I got this book at a reading by the author, whose enthusiasm for his subjecct was infectious.I was also enchanted by James Grashow's whimsical woodcut illustration on the cover--a mauve hippopotomus doing a feathery fan dance.The illustrations beckon us into Edelstein's etymological digs into the shared parentage of strange doublets--hippopotomus and feather being just two.Both words stem from the Indo-European #pet- (as well as the suffixed form "pet-ra,")meaning "to rush, fly."With a light touch, Edelstein flies through feather's line derived from the Greek "pteron" (feather or wing) through the Jurassic Age archeopteryx, pen (as in,quill), penne (pasta shaped like a quill); then rushes us on to pinnacle, panache, petulant, impetus, perpetual, compete, repeat, appetite, and get this, symptom.But, he asks, "how does the massive, slow-moving hippopotamus, which has absolutely no sense of panache and certainly can't fly, join the family of rushing and flying words?The answer is not in the 'hippo' but in the rushing water where it thrives.Greek 'potamos' means 'river,' originally 'rushing water.'Greek 'hippos' means 'horse.'Literally, a hippopotamus is a 'horse in rushing water.'Hippos rarely wander far from water, where they feed on water plants and share vegetation, feel buoyant, and stay cool."

All this information in a single page of text!

But the book is not just a trip through the meandering geography of our language.Edelstein has unpacked th treasures words have gleaned from their travels, and he entertains us with their tales.Think of gods, muses, royalty, clergy, soldiers, maids, barbarians, Romans, Greeks, French, Germans,Americans all sharing a common table, swapping stories, jokes and wordplay and you get some idea of this book.It's rich Epicurean fare packaged as small tastes--tapas, perhaps.And, it is a comfortable book, cozy in the hands with a soft cover; light enough to carry in a backpack or purse (which I do); with clear operating instructions (doublets are in alpha order).Erudite but friendly, Edelstein's Dubious Doublets might be construed as Pooh's take on the Oxford English Dictionary.For me, it's become a pal.5

Allison Tracy, Western Massachusetts

Delightful and Enlightening
Anyone interested in words will find this book to be delightful and enlightening. Stewart Edelstein has taken many unlikely pairs of words and traces them back to reveal their common, often surprising roots. For example, he pairs "gazebo" and "placebo." A gazebo is a structure, he explains, which affords an enjoyable view. A placebo is a substance with no real effect. What do these words have in common? Expectation, we learn. Then we learn about the history and the early recorded uses of the words. The book is filled with discussions of such "dubious doublets"-- which provides the book's title-- from "aardvark" and "procelain"to "canary" and "cynic" to "salacious" and "salmon" to "dentist" and "dandelion," and many, many more. Dubious Doublets is a delightful read, filled with erudition and humor. And it is accessible to people who, like me, have never really studied word origins. It is beautifully and humorously illustrated. It would make a fine gift for writers, people interested in language, or people who enjoy words games. It can be read in small doses or in large portions, depending on one's mood. I heartily recommend it. ... Read more