Rare Words and Ways to Master Their Meanings
Author : Jan Leighton
Publisher : Levenger Company
Page : 120 pages
File Size : 41,3 MB
Release : 2003
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781929154128
Endangered Words
Author : Simon Hertnon
Publisher : Skyhorse
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 40,68 MB
Release : 2015-07-07
Category : Reference
ISBN : 9781632204530
Book Description
Afterwit, agathism, ambsace, anacampserote, antepenultimate, antimony, and more! “When a word perfectly captures a human truth, humans respond to it in the same way that they respond to a beautiful melody. They smile. They nod their heads. They tell others of their discovery.” So says Simon Hertnon in his introduction to Endangered Words, and after wrapping your tongue around the lexical rarities he offers up to his readers, you’ll have to agree! Hertnon provides one hundred hand-selected rarities, and, in a virtuoso display of concinnity, breathes life into them with his lucid descriptions of their meaning and engaging examples of their usage. Perhaps you are an arriviste enjoying a newfound sense of nikhedonia as you demonstrate your sprezzatura in a given subject. Or maybe you are a desipientplutomaniac destined to a life of poshlost. If this doesn’t describe you, then take your pick of the many wonderful words in this book: Omnistrain Trilemma Aporia Or maybe these are all schlimmbesserungs! Thanks to Endangered Words, you no longer have to be at a loss for words or reach for the clichéd and commonplace. The English language is brimming with ambrosial alternatives, and this compendium offers the cream of the crop. Filled with words to be treasured for their elegant precision, from apophenia to zemblanity, Endangered Words is the perfect handbook for writers, an excellent resource for communicators, and an entertaining read for anyone with an appetite for the very brightest gems of the English language.
Other-Wordly
Author : Yee-Lum Mak
Publisher : Chronicle Books
Page : 62 pages
File Size : 50,3 MB
Release : 2016-10-11
Category : Reference
ISBN : 1452163111
Book Description
Discover words to surprise, delight, and enamor. Learn terms for the sunlight that filters through the leaves of trees, for dancing awkwardly but with relish, and for the look shared by two people who each wish the other would speak first. Other-Wordly is an irresistible ebook for lovers of words and those lost for words alike.
The Indispensable Dictionary of Unusual Words
Author : Josefa Heifetz Byrne
Publisher : Skyhorse
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 31,11 MB
Release : 2012-07-01
Category : Reference
ISBN : 9781616086503
Book Description
From aasvogel (the South African vulture) to knurry (full of knots), from melangeur (a machine for making chocolate syrup) to zumbooruk (a small cannon fired from the back of a camel), the words in this book are guaranteed to expand your vocabulary and confound your friends. They may be obscure and even preposterous, but every entry in this eye-opening book has been accepted as a formal or legitimate English word by at least one major dictionary. This dictionary does not claim or attempt to be complete. It is based completely on the editor’s sense of wonder and absurdity. It is educational, yes, but also more fun than any dictionary has a right to be!
The Logodaedalian's Dictionary of Interesting and Unusual Words
Author : George Stone Saussy
Publisher :
Page : 362 pages
File Size : 32,55 MB
Release : 1989
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN :
Book Description
Reprint of the 1984 Oxter English Dictionary, with a substantial appendix of newer words. Literary words are defined and used in context from the fiction of best-selling and less-selling writers published from 1945 to the present. Over 1300 words are defined using examples from 200 novels by 90 authors. No pronunciation. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
The Dictionary of Difficult and Unusual Words
Author : Skyhorse Publishing
Publisher : Skyhorse
Page : 528 pages
File Size : 42,77 MB
Release : 2021-08-03
Category : Reference
ISBN : 9781510765719
Book Description
Broken down by category, this comprehensive reference is the go-to guide for readers and writers who want to expand their knowledge of language. This unique reference book strives to define words and phrases that the average person often encounters but which may not be immediately familiar. Batten, kiosk, proctor, coup de grace, alliteration, parsec, corona, renal, joystick, decant, citadel. Broken down into over fifty categories—from cultural essentials like art, history, and sports to modern obsessions like text messaging and hip hop slang—this book is a word lover's dream and a useful handbook for any student. It covers theatre. It even has a section of foreign words commonly used in English. Expand your vocabulary. Improve your writing. Broaden your horizons!
Foyle's Philavery
Author : Christopher Foyle
Publisher : Larousse Kingfisher Chambers
Page : 252 pages
File Size : 48,52 MB
Release : 2007
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN :
Book Description
The word 'philavery' was invented to describe this book - a collection of words chosen simply on the grounds of their aesthetic appeal. Some of these words appeal because of their aptness, some for their obscurity, some for their euphony, and some for their quirkiness.
Totally Weird and Wonderful Words
Author : Erin McKean
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 298 pages
File Size : 31,58 MB
Release : 2006-10-23
Category : Reference
ISBN : 0199886032
Book Description
Do you know what a snollygoster is? Would you eat something called a muktuk? Do you know anyone who engages in onolatry? Impress your friends and pepper your dinner party conversations with such nuggets as gobemouche, mumpsimus, and cachinnate. You can learn about all of these bizarre and beautiful words and many more in Totally Weird and Wonderful Words. Offering a potpourri of colorful and fascinating words compiled by noted lexicographer Erin McKean, it contains hundreds of definitions, and has been updated to include two new essays, with over 150 words new to this edition. Written in a clear and conversational style, the book contains full-page cartoon illustrations by Roz Chast and Danny Shanahan. Featuring hundreds of words guaranteed to amuse and astonish, this is a book that will appeal to logophiles everywhere. It also features a bibliography of Oxford's dictionaries and a guide to creating your own unusual words correctly from Greek and Latin roots.
Numerical Notation
Author : Stephen Chrisomalis
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 497 pages
File Size : 26,7 MB
Release : 2010-01-18
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 0521878187
Book Description
This book is a cross-cultural reference volume of all attested numerical notation systems, encompassing more than 100 such systems used over the past 5,500 years. Using a typology that defies unilinear evolutionary models, Stephen Chrisomalis identifies five basic types of numerical notation systems, tracks relationships between systems, and creates a general model of change that incorporates social, historical, and cognitive factors.
The Dragons Are Singing Tonight
Author : Jack Prelutsky
Publisher : Harper Collins
Page : 44 pages
File Size : 20,47 MB
Release : 1998-08-27
Category : Juvenile Fiction
ISBN : 0688161626
Book Description
An "excellent collection....Prelutsky and Sis...bring to life so many sorts of dragons: the large, the small, the ferocious, the technological, the gentle, the ominous, and the disconsolate. There's a `just right' quality to the verse that makes it a pleasure to read the words aloud. Their sounds fit together with seamless craftsmanship and their sense rewards listeners with humor, imagination, and occasional poignancy....Because it appeals on so many levels, this is one poetry book that won't siton the shelf for long."--Booklist.
