Download or read book The Wordhord written by Hana Videen and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2022-05-10 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An entertaining and illuminating collection of weird, wonderful, and downright baffling words from the origins of English—and what they reveal about the lives of the earliest English speakers Old English is the language you think you know until you actually hear or see it. Unlike Shakespearean English or even Chaucer’s Middle English, Old English—the language of Beowulf—defies comprehension by untrained modern readers. Used throughout much of Britain more than a thousand years ago, it is rich with words that haven’t changed (like word), others that are unrecognizable (such as neorxnawang, or paradise), and some that are mystifying even in translation (gafol-fisc, or tax-fish). In this delightful book, Hana Videen gathers a glorious trove of these gems and uses them to illuminate the lives of the earliest English speakers. We discover a world where choking on a bit of bread might prove your guilt, where fiend-ship was as likely as friendship, and where you might grow up to be a laughter-smith. The Wordhord takes readers on a journey through Old English words and customs related to practical daily activities (eating, drinking, learning, working); relationships and entertainment; health and the body, mind, and soul; the natural world (animals, plants, and weather); locations and travel (the source of some of the most evocative words in Old English); mortality, religion, and fate; and the imagination and storytelling. Each chapter ends with its own “wordhord”—a list of its Old English terms, with definitions and pronunciations. Entertaining and enlightening, The Wordhord reveals the magical roots of the language you’re reading right now: you’ll never look at—or speak—English in the same way again.
Download or read book Blue in Old English written by C.P. Biggam and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2022-06-08 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Blue in Old English represents the first thorough investigation of an area of the colour semantics of Old English, and the methodology developed for this study is believed to be appropriate for researching the colour semantics of any language which survives only in recorded texts. By means of a collection of in-depth word-studies, which suggest new interpretations of many well-known passages, an understanding of how blueness was described in Old English is developed. The approach is interdisciplinary, using evidence from subjects such as botany, manuscript illustration, etymology, early technologies, and others. The conclusion contradicts certain previously held views on Old English colour, and presents a hitherto obscured sociolinguistic picture of differing language use among various groups of Old English speakers.
Download or read book Word Origins And How We Know Them written by Anatoly Liberman and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2009-04-13 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written in a funny, charming, and conversational style, Word Origins is the first book to offer a thorough investigation of the history and the science of etymology, making this little-known field accessible to everyone interested in the history of words. Anatoly Liberman, an internationally acclaimed etymologist, takes the reader by the hand and explains the many ways that English words can be made, and the many ways in which etymologists try to unearth the origins of words. Every chapter is packed with dozens of examples of proven word histories, used to illustrate the correct ways to trace the origins of words as well as some of the egregiously bad ways to trace them. He not only tells the known origins of hundreds of words, but also shows how their origins were determined. And along the way, the reader is treated to a wealth of fascinating word facts. Did they once have bells in a belfry? No, the original meaning of belfry was siege tower. Are the words isle and island, raven and ravenous, or pan and pantry related etymologically? No, though they look strikingly similar, these words came to English via different routes. Partly a history, partly a how-to, and completely entertaining, Word Origins invites readers behind the scenes to watch an etymologist at work.
Download or read book Agnes Grey written by Anne Brontë and published by Modernista. This book was released on 2024-01-16 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the daughter of a modest minister, Agnes Grey has low prospects in life. After her father loses most of the family’s savings, Agnes is determined to help out and takes a position as governess for a wealthy family. Being a governess turns out to be more challenging than she could have predicted as she has to manage spoiled children and petty parents, while dependent on their approval for her livelihood. Agnes Grey is the first novel by Anne Brontë, published in 1847, and today considered an everlasting classic. Like the famous Jane Eyre, by Anne’s sister Emily Brontë, it deals with the precarious position of the governess and how the young women taking on that role were treated. It is a poignant and insightful novel that explores rigid class structures and the challenges it poses to women. ANNE BRONTË [1820-1849] was an English poet and novelist. She was the youngest of the three Brontë authors, her older sisters being Emily and Charlotte. Anne died young, probably from tuberculosis, having published the novels Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, the latter hailed today as one of the first feminist novels.
Download or read book Old English Liturgical Verse written by Sarah Larratt Keefer and published by Broadview Press. This book was released on 2010-05-31 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a student edition with full Glossary of Old English poems, from manuscripts dated between A.D. 975 and 1060, which are based on liturgical materials used in the Anglo-Saxon Church. Each poem is presented with both a semi-diplomatic and a modern critical text on facing pages. Detailed explanatory notes accompany the text of each poem, and an introduction provides historical, cultural, and liturgical background for this sub-genre of vernacular English verse.
Download or read book Folens Dictionary written by Fred McDonald and published by Folens Limited. This book was released on 1999-07 with total page 556 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Dictionary of American Family Names written by Patrick Hanks and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 2003-05-08 with total page 2094 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Where did your surname come from? Do you know how many people in the United States share it? What does it tell you about your lineage?From the editor of the highly acclaimed Dictionary of Surnames comes the most extensive compilation of surnames in America. The result of 10 years of research and 30 consulting editors, this massive undertaking documents 70,000 surnames of Americans across the country. A reference source like no other, it surveys each surname giving its meaning, nationality, alternate spellings, common forenames associated with it, and the frequency of each surname and forename.The Dictionary of American Family Names is a fascinating journey throughout the multicultural United States, offering a detailed look at the meaning and frequency of surnames throughout the country. For students studying family genealogy, others interested in finding out more about their own lineage, or lexicographers, the Dictionary is an ideal place to begin research.
Download or read book Aging and the Aged in Medieval Europe written by University of Toronto. Centre for Medieval Studies. Conference and published by PIMS. This book was released on 1990 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book When You Are Old written by William Butler Yeats and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2015-06-09 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beautiful early writings by one of the 20th century’s greatest poets on the 150th anniversary of his birth A Penguin Classic The poems, prose, and drama gathered in When You Are Old present a fresh portrait of the Nobel Prize–winning writer as a younger man: the 1890s aesthete who dressed as a dandy, collected Irish folklore, dabbled in magic, and wrote heartrending poems for his beloved, the beautiful, elusive Irish revolutionary Maud Gonne. Included here are such celebrated, lyrical poems as “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” and “He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven,” as well as Yeats’s imaginative retellings of Irish fairytales—including his first major poem, “The Wanderings of Oisin,” based on a Celtic fable—and his critical writings, which offer a fascinating window onto his artistic theories. Through these enchanting works, readers will encounter Yeats as the mystical, lovelorn bard and Irish nationalist popular during his own lifetime. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Download or read book Lost Voices of the Edwardians written by Max Arthur and published by HarperCollins UK. This book was released on 2006 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Max Arthur's compilation of memories from the turn of the century recaptures the day-to-day lives of people living through a fascinating period of transformation and landmark events. Arthur has assembled hundreds of excerpts from private and public archives of Britain. Miners, millworkers, postmen, actresses, soldiers, bricklayers, shipbuilders, farm hands, seamstresses, footballers, and children working hard both in the factory and the schoolroom - all give rich and moving testimony of their day-to-day lives." "Lost Voices of the Edwardians combines oral history and images, including stills from the rediscovered Mitchell and Kenyon film footage from the turn of the century. This collection gives voice to the forgotten figures that peopled the cities, factories and seasides of Edwardian Britain."--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book The Elements in the Medieval World written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2024-11-21 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fourteen chapters and poem of this volume reflect the centrality of the element Earth in medieval thought and life, a centrality inherited from classical antiquity, and fundamental too in Judaeo-Christian and Islamic traditions. The chapters also reflect the multifarious nature of the ways that Earth was experienced and understood in the Middle Ages. Contributors are Sophie E.D. Abrahams, Daniel Anlezark, Marilina Cesario, Catherine Clarke, James Davis, Stephen J. Davis, Virginia Iommi Echeverría, Andrew Fear, Danielle B. Joyner, Hugh Magennis, Francesco Marzella, Tom C.B. McLeish, Patrick Naeve, Bernard O’Donoghue, Sinéad O’Sullivan, Alexandra Paddock, Elisa Ramazzina, Hannah E. Smithson, Sigbjørn O. Sønnesyn, Sinéad O’Sullivan, and Margaret Tedford.
Download or read book The Grey King written by Susan Cooper and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2007-05-08 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes an excerpt from Silver on the tree.
Download or read book The Concise Dictionary of World Place Names written by John Everett-Heath and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-12-07 with total page 1575 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every populated place, however small, has a name, and every name is chosen for a reason. This fascinating dictionary gives the history, meanings, and origin of an enormous range of country, region, island, city, and town names from across the world, as well as the name in the local language. It also includes key historical facts associated with many place names. Place-names are continually changing. New names are adopted for many different reasons such as invasion, revolution, and decolonization. This dictionary includes selected former names, and, where appropriate, some historical detail to explain the transition. The names of places often offer a real insight into the places themselves, revealing religious and cultural traditions, the migration of peoples, the ebb and flow of armies, the presence of explorers, local languages, industrial developments and topography. Superstition and legend can also play a part. All this fascinating detail is included in the Concise Dictionary of World Place Names. In addition to the entries themselves, the dictionary includes two appendices: a glossary of foreign word elements which appear in place names and their meanings, and a list of personalities and leaders from all over the world who have influenced the naming of places. Containing over 10,000 names, from Aachen to Zyrardów, this is a unique and fascinating guide for geographers, travellers, and all with an interest in current world affairs.
Download or read book Lexis and Texts in Early English written by Christian Kay and published by Rodopi. This book was released on 2001 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These papers reflect the long and distinguished career of Professor Jane Roberts in the field of medieval English studies, and especially her pioneering work on A Thesaurus of Old English, which provides novel source material for several of the contributions to the volume. Many of the papers deal with aspects of early lexicology and lexicography, while others focus on linguistic and literary features of Old and Middle English texts and their interpretation. They will thus be of interest to researchers in many areas of early English. A special introductory article describes the interlinked development of A Thesaurus of Old English, The Historical Thesaurus of English, and the proposed Thesaurus of Middle English. Contributors include: Rosamund Allen, Janet M. Bately, Carole P. Biggam, Michelle Brown, Julie Coleman, Janet Cowen, Jodi-Ann George, Joyce Hill, Rosemary Huisman, Giovanni Iarmartino, George Kane, Éamonn Ó Carragáin, Michiko Ogura, Peter Orton, Jeremy J. Smith, E.G. Stanley, Paul Szarmach, Ronald Waldron.
Download or read book The Canadian Oxford Dictionary written by Katherine Barber and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1998 with total page 1738 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We all use Canadian English every day: when we order a pizza "all-dressed", hope to get a "seat-sale" to go south during "March break", or "book off" work to meet with a "CGA" to discuss "RRSPs". Language embodies our nation''s identity, and The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, in its 1,728 pages,covers all aspects of Canadian life. Never before have Canadians been able to see their language, and themselves, so accurately and comprehensively described in a dictionary. The loggers of the west coast, the wheat farmers of the Prairies, the fishermen of the Atlantic provinces, the trappers ofthe North; Canada''s Aboriginal peoples, its British and French settlers, and the more recent arrivals, whether they came from Ukraine, Italy, South Asia or elsewhere - all have contributed to making Canadian English unique, and the dictionary thus reflects the great sweep of Canadian life. Itcontains over 2,000 distinctly Canadian words and meanings, more than any other Canadian dictionary, covering every region of the country. Whether you call your favorite doughnut a jambuster, a bismark, a Burlington bun, or the more prosaic jelly doughnut may depend on where you live in Canada, butthey will all be found in The Canadian Oxford Dictionary. Of course, this is not just a dictionary of Canadian words: its 130,000 entries combine in one reference book information on English as it is used worldwide and as it is used particularly in Canada. Definitions, worded for ease ofcomprehension, are presented so the meaning most familiar to Canadians appears first and foremost. Each of these entries is exceptionally reliable, the result of thorough research into the language and Oxford''s unparalleled language resources. Five professionally trained lexicographers spent fiveyears examining databases containing over 20 million words of Canadian text from more than 8,000 Canadian sources of an astonishing diversity. Inuit Art Quarterly, The Fiddlehead, Canadian Business, and Equinox; the work of writers such as Jack Hodgins, Sandra Birdsell, David Adams Richards, andPierre Berton; daily and weekly newspapers from across the country; and, of course, the Canadian Tire catalogue - all find a place in the evidence of The Canadian Oxford Dictionary. The lexicographers also examined an additional 20 million words of international English sources. For many Canadiansone of the more puzzling aspects of writing is trying to determine whether to use the American spelling or the British spelling. Should it be "colour" or "color", "theater" or "theatre", "programme" or "program"? By examining our extensive Canadian databases, our lexicographers have been able todetermine which, in fact, is the more common spelling: colour, theatre and program. Favoured Canadian pronunciations have also been determined by surveying a nationwide group of respondents. Oxford''s thorough research has also ensured that new words that have recently appeared are well-represented.So if you''re someone who puts on your "bicycle shorts" and "blades" over to the gym to do some "crunches" for your "abs" followed by work on your "lats", "pecs" and "delts", finishing up with a "step" class, because you''re afraid that being a "chocoholic" who loves "comfort food" will affect your"body mass index" and you want to avoid "yo-yo dieting", you''ll find all these common words in The Canadian Oxford Dictionary. An added feature of this dictionary is its encyclopedic element. It includes short biographies of over 800 Canadians, ranging from Elvis Stojko, Celine Dion and JeanBeliveau to Nellie McClung, Lester B. Pearson, and Kim Campbell. It also contains entries on 5,000 individuals and mythical figures of international significance, and almost 6,000 place names, more than 1,200 of them Canadian. Indeed, all Canadian towns with a population of 5,000 or more arefeatured, and their entries not only explain the origin of the place name, but also include the population based on the 1996 census. With the publication of The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Oxford University Press adds another work to its highly respected range of dictionaries, and Canadians finallyhave a dictionary that truly reflects their nations.
Download or read book Old English Homes written by Stephen Thompson and published by London : S. Low, Marston, Low and Searle. This book was released on 1876 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland written by Patrick Hanks and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-11-17 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Containing entries for more than 45,000 English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Cornish, and immigrant surnames, The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland is the ultimate reference work on family names of the UK. The Dictionary includes every surname that currently has more than 100 bearers. Each entry contains lists of variant spellings of the name, an explanation of its origins (including the etymology), lists of early bearers showing evidence for formation and continuity from the date of formation down to the 19th century, geographical distribution, and, where relevant, genealogical and bibliographical notes, making this a fully comprehensive work on family names. This authoritative guide also includes an introductory essay explaining the historical background, formation, and typology of surnames and a guide to surnames research and family history research. Additional material also includes a list of published and unpublished lists of surnames from the Middle Ages to the present day.
