Download or read book Word Histories and Mysteries written by Houghton Mifflin Company and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2004 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Did you know that cats are related etymologically to caterpillars? Or that Thomas Edison played a key role in popularizing the use of the greeting “Hello”? Or that muscles were originally mice, since a flexed biceps looks like a little rodent scurrying under the skin? Word Histories and Mysteries provides a panoramic view of the unique richness of English, uncovering the origins of five hundred everyday words whose surprising and often amusing stories offer insights into the history of humankind. Arranged in convenient alphabetical order, the notes are written in a lively and entertaining style perfect for browsing. The reader can learn how some of the most recent words, such as the computer term wiki, were coined, or trace the origins of English back to the Indo-European language spoken long before the invention of writing. A short introduction outlines the techniques linguists use to trace the history of words, and a handy glossary explains the linguistic terms that describe the ways in which language changes over time. Photographs and drawings help familiarize the reader with the ancient objects or cultural practices from which our words have sprung. Fascinating and fun to read, Word Histories and Mysteries is an ideal gift for high school or college students interested in language and for anyone who wants to know more about the curious sounds we make to communicate every day.
Download or read book More Word Histories and Mysteries written by and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Spanish Word Histories and Mysteries written by and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2007 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Features over 150 entries that describe the history and trace the roots of Spanish words and expressions that have made their way into the English language.
Download or read book Word Mysteries Histories written by and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents the etymology of over 500 words in the English language.
Download or read book Word Histories And Mysteries written by Editors of the American Heritage Di and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2004-10-13 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Did you know that cats are related etymologically to caterpillars? Or that Thomas Edison played a key role in popularizing the use of the greeting “Hello”? Or that muscles were originally mice, since a flexed biceps looks like a little rodent scurrying under the skin? Word Histories and Mysteries provides a panoramic view of the unique richness of English, uncovering the origins of five hundred everyday words whose surprising and often amusing stories offer insights into the history of humankind. Arranged in convenient alphabetical order, the notes are written in a lively and entertaining style perfect for browsing. The reader can learn how words were coined, or trace the origins of English back to the Indo-European language spoken long before the invention of writing. A short introduction outlines the techniques linguists use to trace the history of words, and a handy glossary explains the linguistic terms that describe the ways in which language changes over time. Photographs and drawings help familiarize the reader with the ancient objects or cultural practices from which our words have sprung. Fascinating and fun to read, Word Histories and Mysteries is an ideal gift for high school or college students interested in language and for anyone who wants to know more about the curious sounds we make to communicate every day.
Download or read book Spanish Word Histories And Mysteries written by Editors of the American Heritage Di and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2007-11-14 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most people know that words like burrito and quesadilla come from Spanish, but there are many more English words that we would never suspect are Spanish until we look closely. Did you know that the words breeze and hammock come from Spanish? The jerky in beef jerky, for example, is from Spanish charquí, and the English verb vamoose is from the expression ?Vamos! which means Let’s go! in Spanish. Spanish Word Histories and Mysteries: English Words that Come from Spanish tells the fascinating stories behind 200 English words from Spanish. Every sphere of English vocabulary has been enriched by Spanish, from names for animals—alligator, coyote, and mosquito—to words for weather—hurricane and tornado. This book also explores the Spanish origin of some of the colorful expressions of the Old West: bonanza, loco, mustang, ranch, and ten-gallon hat. Of course, the book digs into the many words for different foods that come from Spanish—not only the obvious ones, such as salsa and taco, but also potato, tomato, caramel, vanilla, and, most important, chocolate. Photographs and line drawings enliven the pages and illustrate the history of the words.
Download or read book More Word Histories and Mysteries written by and published by Collins Reference. This book was released on 2006 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "From the darkest corners of the dictionary, More Word Histories and Mysteries From Aardvark to Zombie brings the most interesting words in English into the spotlight and reveals the surprising and entertaining stories that lie behind everyday vocabulary like nacho or tabloid and commonplace expressions like red herring or stark-naked." "Word lovers can discover the unexpected linguistic links between pairs of words like human and bridegroom or love and libido, and they can follow other words like adobe and scallion all the way back to Egypt, India, and other cultures of the ancient world. Fans of the English language can also explore the richness of American regional terms, from New England lingo like hosey to New Orleans expressions like lagniappe. The techniques that linguists use to trace the origins of words are carefully explained along the way, while photographs and drawings enliven the pages and illustrate the eclectic pleasures of English etymology."--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book History as Mystery written by Michael Parenti and published by City Lights Publishers. This book was released on 2016-08-22 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a lively challenge to mainstream history, Michael Parenti does battle with a number of mass-marketed historical myths. He shows how history's victors distort and suppress the documentary record in order to perpetuate their power and privilege. And he demonstrates how historians are influenced by the professional and class environment in which they work. Pursuing themes ranging from antiquity to modern times, from the Inquisition and Joan of Arc to the anti-labor bias of present-day history books, History as Mystery demonstrates how past and present can inform each other and how history can be a truly exciting and engaging subject. "Michael Parenti, always provocative and eloquent, gives us a lively as well as valuable critique of orthodoxy posing as ‘history.’"—Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States "Deserves to become an instant classic." —Bertell Ollman, author of Dialectical Investigations Those who keep secret the past, and lie about it, condemn us to repeat it. Michael Parenti unveils the history of falsified history, from the early Christian church to the present: a fascinating, darkly revelatory tale." —Daniel Ellsberg, author of The Pentagon Papers "Solid if surely controversial stuff."—Kirkus Michael Parenti, PhD Yale, is an internationally known author and lecturer. He is one of the nation's leadiing progressive political analysts. He is the author of over 275 published articles and twenty books, including Against Empire, Dirty Truths, and Blackshirts and Reds. His writings are published in popular periodicals, scholarly journals, and his op-ed pieces have been in leading newspapers such as the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. His informative and entertaining books and talks have reached a wide range of audiences in North America and abroad.
Download or read book Mysteries in History Ancient History written by Wendy Conklin and published by Teacher Created Resources. This book was released on 2005-03 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Challenge students to explore several important unexplained events that helped shape history. Students use primary source materials, posters, and simulations to find clues and to make informed decisions about these events. There are no right or wrong answers. These real-life mysteries encourage students to research, think, debate, and form conclusions.
Download or read book The Mysteries of the Alphabet written by Marc-Alain Ouaknin and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces the origins of the alphabet beginning with the first pictograms of 5,000 years ago, describing the changes the alphabet has gone through in different countries and cultures.
Download or read book Word Histories A Glossary Of Unusual Word Origins written by Wendell Herbruck and published by Legare Street Press. This book was released on 2023-07-18 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Have you ever wondered where certain words and phrases come from? In this informative and entertaining book, Herbruck explores the histories of some of the most unusual words in the English language. From the origins of "hocus pocus" to the mysterious roots of "mumbo jumbo," readers will be delighted by the surprising stories behind the words we use every day. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Download or read book Words written by Dale D. Johnson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-04-17 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by respected authorities in the fields of education and literacy studies, Words: The Foundation of Literacy is a groundbreaking book for teachers, administrators, and education students. Dale and Bonnie Johnson present a fresh, inspiring reminder of why studying language (from word origins to word structure) is such a vital first step in the development of students' vocabulary, literacy, writing skills, and overall ability to learn. At a time when high-stakes testing has squeezed substance from many curricula, Johnson and Johnson provide ways to enhance students' understanding, interest, and appreciation of language and all its subtleties. Words explores how meaning in language is created by the use and interrelationships of words, phrases, and sentences, their denotations, connotations, implications, and ambiguities. From birth, most children exhibit a natural interest in language: its sounds, nuances, and unpredictable qualities. It is important to sustain, stimulate, and recapture that natural interest in the classroom, and Words provides a multitude of creative and practical techniques for doing so.
Download or read book Origins of the Specious written by Patricia T. O'Conner and published by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This book was released on 2010-08-24 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you cringe when a talking head pronounces “niche” as NITCH? Do you get bent out of shape when your teenager begins a sentence with “and”? Do you think British spellings are more “civilised” than the American versions? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’re myth-informed. In Origins of the Specious, word mavens Patricia T. O’Conner and Stewart Kellerman reveal why some of grammar’s best-known “rules” aren’t—and never were—rules at all. This playfully witty, rigorously researched book sets the record straight about bogus word origins, politically correct fictions, phony français, fake acronyms, and more. Here are some shockers: “They” was once commonly used for both singular and plural, much the way “you” is today. And an eighteenth-century female grammarian, of all people, is largely responsible for the all-purpose “he.” From the Queen’s English to street slang, this eye-opening romp will be the toast of grammarphiles and the salvation of grammarphobes. Take our word for it.
Download or read book The Mystery of History Volume 1 written by Linda Lacour Hobar and published by Bright Ideas Press. This book was released on 2007-07-01 with total page 486 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book History s Mysteries written by Kitson Jazynka and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2017 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Why were the Easter Island heads erected? What really happened to the Maya? Who stole the Irish Crown Jewels? The first book in this exciting new series will cover history's heavy-hitting, head-scratching mysteries, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke, the Bermuda Triangle, the Oak Island Money Pit, Stonehenge, the Sphinx, the disappearance of entire civilizations, the dancing plague, the Voynich manuscript, and so many more. Chock-full of cool photos, fun facts, and spine-tingling mysteries"--Provided by publisher.
Download or read book The Hidden History of Coined Words written by Ralph Keyes and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "How do words get coined? That question is explored in Ralph Keyes's latest book, The Hidden History of Coined Words. Based on meticulous research, Keyes has determined that successful neologisms are as likely to be created by chance as by intention. A remarkable number of new words were coined whimsically, he's discovered, to taunt, even to prank. Knickers resulted from a hoax, big bang from an insult. Wisecracking produced software, crowdsource, and blog. More than a few neologisms weren't even coined intentionally: they resulted from happy accidents such as typos, mistranslations, and misheard words like bigly and buttonhole, or from an unintended coinage such as Isaac Asimov's robotics. Many of the word coiners Keyes writes about come from unlikely quarters. Neologizers (a Thomas Jefferson coinage) include not just learned scholars and literary lions but cartoonists, columnists, children's authors, and children as well. Wimp, Keyes tells us, originated with an early 20th century book series on The Wymps, goop from a series about The Goops, and nerd from a book by Dr. Seuss. Competing claims to have coined terms like gonzo, mojo, and booty call are assessed, as is epic battles fought between new word partisans, and those who think we have enough words already. A concluding chapter offers pointers on how to coin a word of one's own. Written in a reader-friendly manner, The Hidden History of Coined Words will appeal not just to word lovers but history buffs, trivia contesters, and anyone at all who is interested in a well-informed good read"--
Download or read book Word Travelers and the Taj Mahal Mystery written by Raj Haldar and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2021-10-05 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new chapter book series from bestselling author Raj Haldar that explores etymology and world cultures using an exciting, action-packed mystery story! Eddie and Molly-Jean are next door neighbors and best friends. One Saturday, Eddie's mom sends him up to the attic to get his great-grandpa's most prized possession (a book, of course). Eddie and Molly-Jean are suddenly transported to India where they must use their word knowledge to solve a mystery and help a new friend save his school. This new series will follow the two best friends as they discover the hidden stories behind common words. Using their Awesome Enchanted Book and a healthy dose of imagination, the daring duo transport themselves to exotic locales, always encountering new adventures and learning how different cultures have contributed to the English language along the way. Content is vetted for language and reading level by Alycia Zimmerman, a Princeton graduate who has written for Netflix's Magic Schoolbus, a contributing teacher for Scholastic, and former 3rd grade teacher in NYC.
