The English Wordsmith: A Lexical Eclecsis - Softcover

David W. Andrews

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0956736408 ISBN 13: 9780956736406

Publisher: The Great Wordsmith LLP, 2011

Synopsis

"The English Wordsmith" is a collection of 8,000 interesting words and their meanings. Whenever author David Andrews found a word or phrase he liked, but didn't quite understand, he jotted it down so that he could research and distil a precise meaning. He called his collection a "Lexical Eclecsis": lexical meaning to do with words, eclecsis meaning a compilation from various sources. Chosen words span the common, the not so common and include Latin, French and German imports. Definitions extend to words and expressions taken from specialist subject areas such as philosophies, religions, peoples, artists, myths, animals, plants, food, drink and the law. Explanations include the correct context for frequently misused words. The layout is spacious and clear on the page creating a tubby tome for dipping into at leisure, for amusement, for learning, for excelling at word games, for enriching everyday language. The book is for anyone with a passion for the English language who loves finding useful words. "The English Wordsmith" will help every Scrabbler, quiz aficionado, student, crossword enthusiast, journalist, lawyer, and academic.

About this title

About the Author

Old English as spoken by the Anglo-Saxons was later influenced by various languages in particular Latin and French. Today, English is a constantly changing language, taking in new words on an almost daily basis. The result is a world language with a vast vocabulary. David Andrews collection of 8,000 words and phrases shows the diverse nature of that language. The words he collected together include the common and the not-so-common. Portmanteau is a case with two compartments: French porter to carry and manteau a cloak. Common enough. However, a portmanteau word meaning one word that is a blend of two other words brunch (breakfast and lunch) is not quite so common. Latin has its place in The English Wordsmith. Reductio ad absurdum: proving the falsity of a proposition by showing its logical consequence is absurd or contradictory. Usage also has its place: Who or whom? Is none used with a singular or plural verb? None of the partners is in the office today... None of the delegates in the hall were listening to the speech. Following his retirement from the partnership of a major London law firm, David Andrews devoted many years of his life to writing not only law books but this collection of words. He completed his book shortly before his death in 2010. iv TheEnglishWordsmith:Layout 1 06/04/2011 14:51 Page iv It is appropriate perhaps that, in the year that he finished writing The Wordsmith, the supremacy of the English language was finally acknowledged, even in France. The fact that English is now the language of business and commerce, of the internet and of everyday life, seems to have been accepted in Paris. Frederic Martel, author of Mainstream, in which he attacked French-only orthodoxy, was reported as saying: If the French want to exist in the world today they have to speak English (The Times, October 8, 2010: Paris elite say writing on the wall is in English ). Another illustration of the emergence of English as the world language is the situation in India. With the exception of Hindi, more Indians speak English than any other language: it is estimated that over 125 million Indians speak English as their second language (The Times of India, March 14, 2010). In The English Wordsmith, David Andrews illustrates the richness and diversity of the English language. It is a book for your bookshelf, a book to dip into, a gift for a friend, a companion. Anthony Connerty Temple, London EC4

Edition details

• Publisher: The Great Wordsmith LLP
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0956736408
• ISBN 13: 9780956736406
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Moz The Cartoonist
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 586
• Editor: Anthony Connerty