Goes beyond general etymology primers to counsel language enthusiasts on how to understand the pure significance of words, explaining the ways in which correct usage has a potential for enabling positive communication and more productive relationships

Written by the founder of the wildly popular A Word A Day Web site (www.wordsmith.org), this collection of unusual, obscure, and exotic English words will delight writers, scholars, crossword puzzlers, and word buffs of every ilk. The words are grouped in intriguing categories that range from "Portmanteaux" to "Words That Make the Spell-Checker Ineffective." each entry includes a concise definition, etymology, and usage example-and many feature fascinating...

"The author of Reading the OED presents an eye-opening look at language "mistakes" and how they came to be accepted as correct-or not. English is a glorious mess of a language, cobbled together from a wide variety of sources and syntaxes, and changing over time with popular usage. Many of the words and usages we embrace as standard and correct today were at first considered slang, impolite, or just plain wrong. Whether you consider yourself a stickler,...

Discusses the many loanwords that have entered the English vocabulary from North American Indian languages.

Ernie, Bert, and their friends play follow the leader on the way to the library. Introduces prepositions and weaves them into the story.

Webster's New World College Dictionary presents the very best a college dictionary can offer, with all the user-friendly qualities that have distinguished the Webster's New World name for decades. It is a favourite of newsrooms and copy editors, and it is the official dictionary of The Associated Press Stylebook and the New York Times.

Illustrates location words such as inside, along, over, through, and below.

Captioned illustrations and text in English and Spanish present scenes at such locations as an airport, a picnic, and a camping trip.