
The Unexpected Evolution of Language
Discover the Surprising Etymology of Everyday Words
Justin Cord Hayes(Author)
Adams Media Corporation (Publisher)
Published on 18. October 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-1-4405-4278-7 (ISBN)
Description
This book is awesome awful!Did you know that "awful" first originated as a compliment? How about the fact that it was perfectly fine for someone to defecate in their living room? Or that at one time a bully was actually a sweetheart?You may think that these things sound outlandish, but hundreds of years ago, the words "awful," "defecate," and "bully" meant something entirely different than what we know today. The Unexpected Evolution of Language reveals the origins of 208 everyday terms and the interesting stories behind their shift in meaning.Arranged in alphabetical order, you will enjoy uncovering the backstories to terms like:Awful - worthy of respect or fear; inspiring aweBimbo - slang for a stupid, inconsequential manDefecate - to purify; cleanseInvest - to clothe; to dressNice - foolish; stupidRelay - hunting term meaning fresh pack of houndsFrom "aftermath" and "sophisticated" to "empty" and "prestige," you will aboslutely love seeing just what kind of damage time has done to the English language.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Holbrook, MA
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 191 mm
Width: 140 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-4405-4278-7 (9781440542787)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Justin Cord Hayes
The Unexpected Evolution of Language
Discover the Surprising Etymology of Everyday Words
E-Book
09/2012
1st Edition
Adams Media
€2.96
Available for download
Person
Justin Cord Hayes, coauthor of The Big Book of Words You Should Know and Roget's Thesaurus of Words for Intellectuals, is an experienced journalist and teacher. He lives in North Carolina.