Forgotten English
By (Author) Jeffrey Kacirk
HarperCollins Publishers Inc
William Morrow Paperbacks
28th September 2001
United States
General
Non Fiction
Thesauri
Writing and editing guides
Sociolinguistics
Historical and comparative linguistics
Miscellanies and compendia
Social and cultural anthropology
Social and cultural history
Trivia and quiz questions
428.1
Paperback
256
Width 140mm, Height 210mm, Spine 18mm
227g
Have you ever sent a message via scandaroon, needed a nimgimmer, or fallen victim to bowelhive Never heard of these terms That's because they are a thing of the past. These words are alive and well, however, in Forgotten English, a charming collection of hundreds of archaic words, their definitions, and old-fashioned line drawings.
For readers of Bill Bryson, Henry Beard, and Richard Lederer, Forgotten English is an eye-opening trip down a delightful etymological path. Readers learn that an ale connor sat in a puddle of ale to judge its quality, that a beemaster informed bees of any important household events, and that our ancestors had a saint for hangover sufferers, St. Bibiana, a fact pertinent to the word bibulous. Each selection is accompanied by literary excerpts demonstrating the word's usage, from sources such as Shakespeare, Dickens, Chaucer, and Benjamin Franklin. Entertaining as well as educational, Forgotten English is a fascinating addition to word lovers' books.
Jeffrey Kacirk is a research aficionado with a special love for antique dictionaries. He lives in Marin County, California.