Semantic Antics
How and Why Words Change Meaning
by Sol Steinmetz
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"My favorite popular word book of the year"-William Safire, NY Times 6/22/2008A fun, new approach to examining etymology!Many common English words started out with an entirely different meaning than the one we know today. For example:The word adamant came into English around 855 C.E. as a synonym for 'diamond,' very different from today's meaning of the word: "utterly unyielding in attitude or opinion."Before the year 1200, the word silly meant "blessed," and was derived from Old English saelig, meaning "happy." This word went through several incarnations before adopting today's meaning: "stupid or foolish."In Semantic Antics, lexicographer Sol Steinmetz takes readers on an in-depth, fascinating journey to learn how hundreds of words have evolved from their first meaning to the meanings used today.From the Hardcover edition.
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| Edition | Availability |
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1
Semantic Antics: How and Why Words Change Meaning
2009, Random House Information Group
in English
1299115217 9781299115217
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2
Semantic Antics
2009, Diversified Publishing
Electronic resource
in English
030749778X 9780307497789
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3
Semantic antics: how and why words change meaning
2008, Random House Reference
in English
0375426124 9780375426124
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4
Semantic Antics: How and Why Words Change Meaning
April 8, 2008, Random House Reference
in English
0375426124 9780375426124
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Language Arts
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grammer
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etymology - wordgasms!
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- Created April 29, 2008
- 6 revisions
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| August 5, 2010 | Edited by IdentifierBot | added LibraryThing ID |
| April 24, 2010 | Edited by Open Library Bot | Fixed duplicate goodreads IDs. |
| April 16, 2010 | Edited by bgimpertBot | Added goodreads ID. |
| April 14, 2010 | Edited by Open Library Bot | Linked existing covers to the edition. |
| April 29, 2008 | Created by an anonymous user | Imported from amazon.com record |