The Wordspotter's Guide
A Jaunt Through Our Etymological Past
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The Wordspotter's Guide
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Olivia Swarthout
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Olivia Swarthout
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Olivia Swarthout
“An insanely original exploration of where our words come from, and how much historical power they contain. But proceed with care: your newfound authority may just make you insufferable.”–Simon Garfield, New York Times bestselling author of Just My Type
English is by many measures the largest language in the world—and doubtless the unruliest. Over the last millennium, we’ve borrowed, stolen, conquered, and invented our way to a massive lexicon, a million words by some counts. Hiding in that corpus are countless untold stories—beautiful, sad, hilarious, profane—which together offer a record of how we’ve conceived of and spoken about the world.
It’s time to go wordspotting, with the inimitable Olivia Swarthout as your guide. You’ll discover that the term silhouette comes from eighteenth-century French finance minister Etienne de Silhouette, whose austerity measures caused his name to be associated with any low-quality work, such as the black paper cutouts that were a cheaper alternative to traditional portraits. That the seemingly modern word unfriend dates all the way back to the seventeenth century. And that robe and robbed share an etymological root, dating to a time when constructing clothing was so labor-intensive that it was the most valuable thing in most people’s homes and thus a target for thieves.
Olivia Swarthout tells a deeply researched, authoritative story about the history of the English language, without losing sight of the fun. If you’ve ever wondered which meaning of cardinal came first (the direction, then the Church figure, then the bird) or lamented that we no longer give people names like John the Wifeless, Ralph the Haunted, and Hugh the Ass (all citizens of eleventh-century Britain), this is the book for you.
* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF featuring charts, diagrams, tables, and other visual material referenced throughout the book.
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Commentaires
“An insanely original exploration of where our words come from, and how much historical power they contain. But proceed with care: your newfound authority may just make you insufferable.” –Simon Garfield, New York Times bestselling author of Just My Type
“Swarthout is a warm, knowledgeable tour guide of the English language, taking you on a thought-provoking stroll through history.” –Adam Aleksic, New York Times bestselling author of Algospeak
"Entertaining. ... A merry romp through linguistic history." –Kirkus
"Word nerds can unite around this book for lovers of the English language. ... Scholarly and engaging, this book is a must-read for anyone obsessed with language and communication. ... Smart and perceptive, this is a great addition to any collection of books about books and language." –Library Journal
"Immensely readable, full of learning and very entertaining. Olivia Swarthout shows how words are a source of stories and of knowledge across time and across human society. With energy, humour and learning she demonstrates that words have inner lives, often surprising, wayward and ambiguous. This is an enjoyable and readable book that will teach readers something about the language we use every day." –Anthony Bale, author of A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages
"Every word tells a story, and Swarthout has scooped up some of the best. From internal anatomy to outer space, her light-hearted joyride through English etymology will enrich your appreciation of the lore beneath our language." –Eli Burnstein, author of Dictionary of Fine Distinctions
"Part field guide, part bestiary – a joyful hunt through the weird and wonderful world of the English language." –Rebecca Lee, author of Rogues, Widows and Orphans
"Hugely enjoyable. Reading The Wordspotter’s Guide was like following a plough as it unearths the fossils of the English language." –Shaun Bythell, author of Confessions of a Bookseller
“Swarthout is a warm, knowledgeable tour guide of the English language, taking you on a thought-provoking stroll through history.” –Adam Aleksic, New York Times bestselling author of Algospeak
"Entertaining. ... A merry romp through linguistic history." –Kirkus
"Word nerds can unite around this book for lovers of the English language. ... Scholarly and engaging, this book is a must-read for anyone obsessed with language and communication. ... Smart and perceptive, this is a great addition to any collection of books about books and language." –Library Journal
"Immensely readable, full of learning and very entertaining. Olivia Swarthout shows how words are a source of stories and of knowledge across time and across human society. With energy, humour and learning she demonstrates that words have inner lives, often surprising, wayward and ambiguous. This is an enjoyable and readable book that will teach readers something about the language we use every day." –Anthony Bale, author of A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages
"Every word tells a story, and Swarthout has scooped up some of the best. From internal anatomy to outer space, her light-hearted joyride through English etymology will enrich your appreciation of the lore beneath our language." –Eli Burnstein, author of Dictionary of Fine Distinctions
"Part field guide, part bestiary – a joyful hunt through the weird and wonderful world of the English language." –Rebecca Lee, author of Rogues, Widows and Orphans
"Hugely enjoyable. Reading The Wordspotter’s Guide was like following a plough as it unearths the fossils of the English language." –Shaun Bythell, author of Confessions of a Bookseller
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