From Bonbon to Cha-Cha: Oxford Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199543690 ISBN 13: 9780199543694

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2008

Synopsis

If foreign words and phrases are your "bete noire," here is a superb reference that offers coverage of more than 6,000 foreign words and phrases that are in regular use in English today.
Readers will find clear definitions of words such as "fandango," "futon," "falsetto," "basmati," "bistro," "nouvelle cousine"--and many other words appear in everyday speech as well as in musical direction, the arts, food, medicine, science, literature and belles-lettres. As one would expect in a language as global as English, the Dictionary draws words from some forty languages including Afrikaans, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindustani, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Russian, and Turkish. The entries are browsable, but also authoritative, with detailed information on each word or phrase, including any alternative spellings, the date of the word's introduction into English, its language of origin and original spelling, its definition, and notes on usage and other points of interest. Quotations have been liberally sprinkled throughout to illustrate how the words are used in context. The etymologies are often curious: "ukelele," for instance, is Hawaiian for "jumping flea" and "yakuza," the Japanese word for "gangster," literally means "8-9-3" (the worst possible hand in a popular gambling game). New full-page feature panels provide fascinating extra information on language borrowing, including how specific languages have influenced particular areas of English. This new edition includes up-to-date coverage of words that have entered the English language in the 21st Century, including "bruschetta," "pashmina," and "galactico," and an appendix that lists words by country.
Here then is a book that is "sine qua non" (absolutely indispensable) for anyone's reference shelf.

About this title

About the Author

Andrew Delahunty is a freelance lexicographer and has authored and contributed to a wide range of dictionary and reference works, including Oxford Dictionary of Allusions (2005) and Goldenballs and the Iron Lady: A Little Book of Nicknames (2004).

Review

`Review from previous edition frightfully good value. Clarifies those little words and letters that so often puzzle'
Express

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0199543690
• ISBN 13: 9780199543694
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 432
• Editor: Delahunty Andrew