The Wordsworth Dictionary of Foreign Words in English

by John Ayto

This work looks behind the literal translations of foreign words to explain their real meaning. It offers accounts of the origins and backgrounds of foreign words used in English. Languages covered... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1853263443
• Release Date: April 1998
• Publisher: Wordsworth Edition
• Length: 325 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.8" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

How to Speak English More Eloquently?

This browser's paradise takes the reader behind the literal translations of foreign words to explain their real meanings. Such words often fill gaps in the canon of English usage, while French words provide a useful and pleasing flourish and Latin phrases are often a legal necessity. This book gives lively accounts of the origins and background of words not only from Latin, French and German but also from Greek, Italian, Spanish and many other sources and shows how they have enriched the expressiveness of English in such areas as food, music, sport inter alia. Today, over two-thirds of English vocabulary is ultimately of foreign origin. In the 1990's the borrowing process continues unabated and it is this process which receives an up-to-date and detail rendering in John Ayto's book. Mr Ayto pays particular attention to the subtle nuances and connotations which accompany the use of foreignisms, and his careful accounts will be especially useful to those who are uncertain of the force of a particular item or unsure about how it should be used. This book is informed and informative, clear and succinct in its commentary, and steering well clear of the impressionisms and pedantry that so often colours books in the genre. Digest this book and you will improve your eloquence dramatically.