Sol Steinmetz: 2 books
Semantic Antics
How and Why Words Change Meaning
Language: English
Release Date: February 4, 2009
"My favorite popular word book of the year"
-William Safire, NY Times 6/22/2008
A 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...
There's a Word for It
The Explosion of the American Language Since 1900
Language: English
Release Date: April 27, 2010
Word geeks (1984), rejoice! Crack open these covers and immerse yourself in a mind-expanding (1963) compendium of the new words (or new meanings of words) that have sprung from American life to ignite the most vital, inventive, fruitful, and A-OK (1961) lexicographical Big Bang (1950) since the first...