Download or read book Once Upon a Word written by Jess Zafarris and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2020-02-25 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Where do words come from?—Teaching kids ages 9 to 12 vocabulary through word origins The English language is made up of words from different places, events, and periods of time. Each of those words has an exciting story to tell us about where, when, how, and why they came about. Once Upon a Word is packed with easy-to-understand definitions and awesome word origin stories. With this dictionary for kids, you can understand the history and meaning of English words, improve your vocabulary and spelling, and learn to play with language. Explore how weird words like gnome, fun words like zombie, and common words like caterpillar came to exist. Discover why some words sound funnier than others (like cackle, sizzle, and twang) and why some groups of words start with the same few letters (like hydrate, hydrogen, and fire hydrant). In this dictionary for kids, there's a whole world of English words to uncover! This unique dictionary for kids includes: Roots & branches—Learn about the building blocks that make up words, called roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Kid-friendly definitions—Look up definitions designed for your reading level in this dictionary for kids. Word tidbits—Find out where your favorite food words got their start, from bacon to marshmallow, spaghetti, yogurt, and beyond. See how the English language evolved with this colorful dictionary for kids.
Download or read book Stories Behind Words written by Peter R. Limburg and published by H. W. Wilson. This book was released on 1986 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shows how language evolves by relating the histories of words associated with seven different topics.
Download or read book Myths Behind Words written by and published by . This book was released on 2018-04-18 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like the constellations in the sky, words such as aphrodisiac, hubris, museum, galaxy and mentor each contain within them a story, if only you knew to look closely. This collection retells the myths behind common words and expressions in English, bringing to life the heroes, monsters and gods whose deeds and battles have left a hidden mark on our language. Compiling more than seventy-five myths, the stories in this book feature well-known figures such as Zeus, Athena, Apollo, Hercules, Achilles, the Amazons, Medusa and the Minotaur. The entries are supplemented with original illustration reproductions of scenes from ancient pottery, and include translations from Ancient Greek epics such as the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Argonautica and Theogony.
Download or read book Origins of Words and Phrases written by Reader's Digest Association, Limited and published by Reader's Digest Association. This book was released on 2008-02-01 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reveals the secrets, scandals and surprises behind the words used every day. This book includes the stories and the personalities that have helped shape the English language from William Shakespeare and Lord Byron, to Rudyard Kipling and Salmon Rushdie.
Download or read book Anonyponymous written by John Bemelmans Marciano and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2009-11-03 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eponymous, adj. Giving one's name to a person, place, or thing. Anonymous, adj. Anonymous. Anonyponymous, adj. Anonymous and eponymous. The Earl of Sandwich, fond of salted beef and paired slices of toast, found a novel way to eat them all together. Etienne de Silhouette, a former French finance minister, was so notoriously cheap that his name became a byword for chintzy practices-such as substituting a darkened outline for a proper painted portrait. Both bequeathed their names to the language, but neither man is remembered. In this clever and funny book, John Bemelmans Marciano illuminates the lives of these anonyponymous persons. A kind of encyclopedia of linguistic biographies, the book is arranged alphabetically, giving the stories of everyone from Abu "algorithm" Al-Khwarizmi to Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin. Along with them you'll find the likes of Harry Shrapnel, Joseph-Ignace Guillotine, and many other people whose vernacular legacies have long outlived their memory. Accented by amusing line portraits and short etymological essays on subjects like "superhero eponyms," Anonyponymous is both a compendium of trivia and a window into the fascinating world of etymology. Carefully curated and unfailingly witty, this book is both a fantastic gift for language lovers and a true pleasure to read.
Download or read book Why You Say It written by Webb B. Garrison and published by Grant Press. This book was released on 2008-11 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wny You BY WEBB B. GARRISON Illustrated ly Henry R. Martin ABINGDON PRESS NEW YORK NASHVILLE To BRUCE and BEATRICE BLACKMAR GOULD Connoisseurs of Words Foreword Words and phrases are like persons. Some are dull and stodgy, while others are very good company indeed. It is from the ranks of the latter group that the words in this volume have been selected. Interest is the standard which determined whether or not a particular word or phrase should be included. Dedicated though it is to the general reader, it may be used with confidence by persons with special interests. In general, word-histories are developed along lines of standard scholarship. There are a few exceptions accounts based upon tradition. These stories, included because of their interest, are clearly indicated as based upon popular accounts. Much of the material included in this collection was originally pub lished in the popular magazines which are listed on the acknowledg ments page. Final research was done in the Joint University Library, Nashville, Tennessee. Many courtesies were extended by Dr. A. F. Kuhlman, director, and Mrs. Paul L. Wayman, circulation librarian. A Ladies Home Journal reader first suggested that this material should be published in book form. Coming as it did from a reader in the Transvaal, Africa, the suggestion carried much weight though it was not acted upon for some months. Unfortunately, that readers letter has been lost, so it is impossible to give due credit by name. WEBB B. GARJEUSON 7 Acknowledgments Much of the material in this volume was originally published as short features in general and specialized magazines. Special thanks are due editors and publishers of these magazines, both forencouragement in research and for permission to reprint numerous items. Publishers involved, and magazines in which the material was originally pub lished, are listed below Andrus Publishing Co. for cushion, furniture, mahogany, and suite from Furniture Digest. Catholic Digest, Inc., for asylum awful, batiste, bedlam bead cancel, canter, cardinal, to chime in, clerk, crib, diaper, dumbbell, gabardine, helpmate, journal, ledger, lobby, marigold, musical notes noon, polite, primer sign, to a t, and thinking cap from Catholic Digest. Chesapeake and Ohio Railway for caboose, to call on the car pet conductor, crosstie, deadhead, engineer, freight, gon dola, hogger, news butch, spur, station, train, and tun nel from Tracks. Chilton Company, Inc., for boot, heel, last, moccasin, shoe, and sole from Boot and Shoe Recorder. The Curtis Publishing Company for Bible, bigwig, blarney, blue jeans, Blue Monday, bombast, boss, to bring home the bacon, calendar, camera, canary, compact companion, Dixie, doily, to eat ones hat, a feather in ones cap, flower names, fruit names, grass widow, heckle, husband, infan try, lord, to nag patent, salary, soft soap sundae, to 9 WHY YOU SAY IT take with a grain of salt to tie the knot and wife from Ladies Home Journal. Dell Publishing Co., Inc., for serenade from Dell Crossword An nual easel, earshot villain from Dell Crossword Puzzles con template, fanatic, pedigree, zoo from Official Crossword Puzzles and abracadabra, ancient gods anecdote, banquet, bogey, spire from Pocket Crossword Puzzles. Detective World, Inc., for aboveboard, apache, assassin, bobby, carpetbagger, catchpenny, to crib, double cross, fili buster, footpad, gun, gyp, hoax, moll, to pull the woolover ones eyes, to steal thunder, stool pigeon, and thug from Detective World. Farrell Publishing Corp, for apple-pie order etiquette, mil liner, mind your ps and qs, mug, and pin money from The Woman. Father Bakers Homes of Charity for best foot forward boner, chairman, coward, czar, falsehood, to get hep grain, grocer, in the groove, learn by heart, lion, mail, outlaw, parlor, to pay the piper piano, piker, to put a flea in ones ear, to read the riot act, roughneck, shoddy, vandal, and to be at loose ends from The Victorian. Fawcett Publications, Inc...
Download or read book Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins written by Julia Cresswell and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2010-09-09 with total page 514 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contains alphabetically arranged entries that explore the origin, evolution, and social history of over three thousand English language words.
Download or read book Words of Science and the History Behind Them written by Isaac Asimov and published by . This book was released on 1959 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book One Word for Kids written by Jon Gordon and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the authors who created the One Word movement, impacting schools, businesses, and sports teams around the world, comes a charming fable that can be read and shared by everyone. If you could choose only one word to help you have your best year ever, what would it be? Love? Fun? Believe? Brave? It’s probably different for everyone. How you find your word is just as important as the word itself. And once you know your word, what do you do with it? In One Word for Kids, bestselling author Jon Gordon—along with coauthors Dan Britton and Jimmy Page—asks these questions to children and adults of all ages, teaching an important life lesson in the process. This engaging, fully illustrated fable follows Stevie, a young boy falling asleep on the first day of school. His teacher gives the class an assignment: to find the one word that will help them have their best year ever. To discover their one word, they must look inside themselves, look up, and look out. At home, Stevie is upset because he can’t find his word. After his dad offers some helpful advice, Stevie excitedly begins the quest for his word. His search helps him discover a lot about himself, what he loves, and what is important to him. An easy read with a powerful message, One Word for Kids appeals to readers of all ages and is an ideal entry point into discussing a valuable lesson in a fun and engaging way.
Download or read book Heavy Words Lightly Thrown written by Chris Roberts and published by . This book was released on 2006-05 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Revealing the seamy and quirky stories behind favorite nursery rhymes, London librarian Roberts traces the origins of the subtle phrases and antiquated references, unearthing religious hatred, political subversion, and sexual innuendo.
Download or read book The Origins of Words and Phrases written by Reader's Digest Australia Staff and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book delights in both the historical depth and the sheer quirkiness of English. The A to Z of words and phrases is interspersed with special features on such topics as Australian words, catchphrases, pop lyrics and street slang. Go straight to a word for its origin, or dip in and out for entertaining enlightenment. Travel the globe to find out more about the English language.
Download or read book Power in Words written by Mary Frances Berry and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2010-10-12 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whatever his ratings, Obama remains personally popular, widely acknowledged for his soaring oratory. His words were one of the lasting legacies of his presidential campaign and are proving to be among his most effective governing weapons. In Power in Words, distinguished historian and civil rights activist Mary Frances Berry and former presidential speechwriter Josh Gottheimer introduce Obama’s most memorable speeches, from his October 2002 speech against the war in Iraq and his November 2008 election-night victory speech to “A More Perfect Union,” his March 2008 response to the Reverend Wright controversy, and lesser-known but revealing speeches, such as one given in Nairobi, Kenya, in August 2006. For each speech, Berry and Gottheimer add a rich introduction that includes political analysis, provides insight and historical context, and features commentary straight from the speechwriters themselves—including Jon Favreau, Obama’s chief speechwriter, and several other Obama campaign writers. Compelling and enduring,Power in Words delivers the behind-the-scenes account of Obama’s rhetorical legacy and is a collection to relish for years to come.
Download or read book The Dictionary of Lost Words written by Pip Williams and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2021-04-06 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • “Delightful . . . [a] captivating and slyly subversive fictional paean to the real women whose work on the Oxford English Dictionary went largely unheralded.”—The New York Times Book Review “A marvelous fiction about the power of language to elevate or repress.”—Geraldine Brooks, New York Times bestselling author of People of the Book Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, an Oxford garden shed in which her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Young Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word bondmaid flutters beneath the table. She rescues the slip and, learning that the word means “slave girl,” begins to collect other words that have been discarded or neglected by the dictionary men. As she grows up, Esme realizes that words and meanings relating to women’s and common folks’ experiences often go unrecorded. And so she begins in earnest to search out words for her own dictionary: the Dictionary of Lost Words. To do so she must leave the sheltered world of the university and venture out to meet the people whose words will fill those pages. Set during the height of the women’s suffrage movement and with the Great War looming, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. Inspired by actual events, author Pip Williams has delved into the archives of the Oxford English Dictionary to tell this highly original story. The Dictionary of Lost Words is a delightful, lyrical, and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words and the power of language to shape the world. WINNER OF THE AUSTRALIAN BOOK INDUSTRY AWARD
Download or read book The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows written by John Koenig and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-11-16 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “It’s undeniably thrilling to find words for our strangest feelings…Koenig casts light into lonely corners of human experience…An enchanting book. “ —The Washington Post A truly original book in every sense of the word, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows poetically defines emotions that we all feel but don’t have the words to express—until now. Have you ever wondered about the lives of each person you pass on the street, realizing that everyone is the main character in their own story, each living a life as vivid and complex as your own? That feeling has a name: “sonder.” Or maybe you’ve watched a thunderstorm roll in and felt a primal hunger for disaster, hoping it would shake up your life. That’s called “lachesism.” Or you were looking through old photos and felt a pang of nostalgia for a time you’ve never actually experienced. That’s “anemoia.” If you’ve never heard of these terms before, that’s because they didn’t exist until John Koenig set out to fill the gaps in our language of emotion. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows “creates beautiful new words that we need but do not yet have,” says John Green, bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars. By turns poignant, relatable, and mind-bending, the definitions include whimsical etymologies drawn from languages around the world, interspersed with otherworldly collages and lyrical essays that explore forgotten corners of the human condition—from “astrophe,” the longing to explore beyond the planet Earth, to “zenosyne,” the sense that time keeps getting faster. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is for anyone who enjoys a shift in perspective, pondering the ineffable feelings that make up our lives. With a gorgeous package and beautiful illustrations throughout, this is the perfect gift for creatives, word nerds, and human beings everywhere.
Download or read book The Lost Words written by Robert Macfarlane and published by Anansi International. This book was released on 2018-10-02 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From bestselling Landmarks author Robert Macfarlane and acclaimed artist and author Jackie Morris, a beautiful collection of poems and illustrations to help readers rediscover the magic of the natural world.
Download or read book Word by Word written by Kory Stamper and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2018-03-06 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “We think of English as a fortress to be defended, but a better analogy is to think of English as a child. We love and nurture it into being, and once it gains gross motor skills, it starts going exactly where we don’t want it to go: it heads right for the goddamned electrical sockets.” With wit and irreverence, lexicographer Kory Stamper cracks open the obsessive world of dictionary writing, from the agonizing decisions about what to define and how to do it to the knotty questions of ever-changing word usage. Filled with fun facts—for example, the first documented usage of “OMG” was in a letter to Winston Churchill—and Stamper’s own stories from the linguistic front lines (including how she became America’s foremost “irregardless” apologist, despite loathing the word), Word by Word is an endlessly entertaining look at the wonderful complexities and eccentricities of the English language.
Download or read book The Books of Jacob written by Olga Tokarczuk and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-02-01 with total page 993 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A NEW YORKER “ESSENTIAL READ” “Just as awe-inspiring as the Nobel judges claimed.” – The Washington Post “Olga Tokarczuk is one of our greatest living fiction writers. . . This could well be a decade-defining book akin to Bolaño’s 2666.” –AV Club “Sophisticated and ribald and brimming with folk wit. . . The comedy in this novel blends, as it does in life, with genuine tragedy.” –Dwight Garner, The New York Times LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, TIME, THE NEW YORKER, AND NPR The Nobel Prize–winner’s richest, most sweeping and ambitious novel yet follows the comet-like rise and fall of a mysterious, messianic religious leader as he blazes his way across eighteenth-century Europe. In the mid-eighteenth century, as new ideas—and a new unrest—begin to sweep the Continent, a young Jew of mysterious origins arrives in a village in Poland. Before long, he has changed not only his name but his persona; visited by what seem to be ecstatic experiences, Jacob Frank casts a charismatic spell that attracts an increasingly fervent following. In the decade to come, Frank will traverse the Hapsburg and Ottoman empires with throngs of disciples in his thrall as he reinvents himself again and again, converts to Islam and then Catholicism, is pilloried as a heretic and revered as the Messiah, and wreaks havoc on the conventional order, Jewish and Christian alike, with scandalous rumors of his sect’s secret rituals and the spread of his increasingly iconoclastic beliefs. The story of Frank—a real historical figure around whom mystery and controversy swirl to this day—is the perfect canvas for the genius and unparalleled reach of Olga Tokarczuk. Narrated through the perspectives of his contemporaries—those who revere him, those who revile him, the friend who betrays him, the lone woman who sees him for what he is—The Books of Jacob captures a world on the cusp of precipitous change, searching for certainty and longing for transcendence. In a nod to books written in Hebrew, The Books of Jacob is paginated in reverse, beginning on p. 955 and ending on p. 1 – but read traditionally, front cover to back.
