N.T.C.'s Dictionary of Changes in Meaning (National Textbook Language Dictionaries) - Hardcover

Room, Adrian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0844251364 ISBN 13: 9780844251363

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Contemporary, 1990

Synopsis

English is a language that never ceases to change. Over the centuries old words have acquired new, sometimes unexpected, meanings. Readers of NTC's Dictionary of Changes in Meaning may be surprised to learn that upset originally meant "set up," bully once meant "darling," and with once meant "against." Author Adrian Room also reveals the origins of many common English words. A grocer, for example, was so called because he sold items "by the gross." And a secretary acquired that name because he or she was "entrusted with secrets."
The entries in NTC's Dictionary of Changes in Meaning not only supply the different meanings of a word and offer examples of their use, but also tell when each meaning entered the English language. Readers can thus trace the history of a word right up to present day usage.

About this edition

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Contemporary
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0844251364
• ISBN 13: 9780844251363
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304