500 Years of New Words - The Fascinating Story of How, Why, and When Hundreds of Your Favourite Words First Entered the English Language

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Width:  6  Inches
Height:  9  Inches
Pages:  336
Format:  Paperback
Publication Date:  January 9, 2004
Illustrations:  None
Publisher:  Dundurn Press

Description

500 Years of New Words takes you on an exciting journey through the English language from the days before Shakespeare to the first decade of the 21st century. All the main entries are arranged not alphabetically by in chronological order based on the earliest known year that each word was printed or written down.

Beginning with “America” in 1507 and spanning the centuries to “Marsiphobiphiliac” in 2004 (a person who would love to go to Mars but is afraid of being marooned there), this book can be opened at any page and the reader will discover a dazzling array of linguistic delights. In other words, this book is unputdownable (the main entry for 1947). If Shakespeare were alive today, he would buy this book.

Author

Bill Sherk has enjoyed a life-long fascination with words. While teaching history to high school students in Toronto, he read Webster‘s Dictionary from cover to cover, a feat that took three years, three months, and sixteen days. He then wrote two dictionaries of his own: Brave New Words (1979) and More Brave New Words (1981). His latest book, 500 Years of New Words is an update of his earlier book (1983) which now brings the English language into the 21st century.

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