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Word Origins: The Hidden Histories of English Words from A to Z

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Word Origins: The Hidden Histories of English Words from A to Z - Ayto, John, Fr.
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The average contemporary English speaker knows 50,000 words. Yet stripped down to its origins, this apparently huge vocabulary is in reality much smaller, derived from Latin, French and the Germanic languages. It is estimated that every year, 800 neologisms are added to the English language: acronyms (nimby), blended words (motel), and those taken from foreign languages (savoir-faire). Laid out in an A-Z format with detailed cross references, and written in a style that is both authoritative and accessible, Word Origins is ...

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Word Origins: The Hidden Histories of English Words from A to Z 2006, A&c Black Business Information and Development, New York

ISBN-13: 9780713674989

2nd edition

Trade paperback