Cassell's Dictionary of Word Histories - Softcover

With over 20,000 words and word elements, ranging from the everyday to the esoteric and from street slang to scientific terminology, this lexicon paints a picture of the diverse and fascinating sources that gave rise to the English language we now speak. For each entry, there's a basic definition, grammatical status, and the term's history proper--when it first appeared in English, its origins, and the history of its development. Trace such words as cathedral and syllable back to the original Latin and Greek; see direct borrowings from foreign languages such as zeitgeist and incubus; explore the scientific birth of coinages like agoraphobia and titanium; and enjoy some nonsense inventions, including frabjous and runcible. It's a goldmine of entertainment and enlightenment into the shifting meanings and usages of English.