A Word a Day contains 365 carefully selected words that will enhance and expand your vocabulary, along with their meanings, origins and sample usage and fascinating word-related facts and trivia. It is estimated that on average an English-speaking adult has acquired a functioning vocabulary of 25,000 words by the time they reach middle age. That sounds like a lot-- and more than enough for the daily purposes of communicating with each other in speech and writing. However, it is hard to feel quite so sanguine about our word power when considering those 25,000 words account for less than fifteen per cent of the total words in current usage in the English language. Furthermore, new words are created all the time and, as the word pool flourishes, can we afford to allow our vocabulary to stagnate? Logophile Joseph Piercy has the answer: a simple challenge to learn A Word a Day from this user-friendly onomasticon (that's a word list designed for a specific purpose--in case you were wondering ...). Each of the 365 words have been carefully selected for their elegance and pertinence in everyday situations and every entry contains a clear and concise outline of meaning, origin and sample usage in context, alongside fascinating word related facts and trivia. A Word a Day is a treasure trove of fascination and fun for all language lovers--delve in and enhance your vocabulary.

With uncanny scholarship and uniquely wry wit, this book is a must-read for anyone who has ever wondered about common word usage. Through exploring the classical roots of the English language, readers learn the origins of numerous words, many of which can be definitively tracked back to their first use. Readers also learn that many offensive words (pornographywas an ancient word for menu andfornicationwas actually an architectural term) have innocuous and humble Greek and Roman beginnings. Designed to be instructional and filled with concise information and plenty of examples, this reference will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in learning more about the words they speak.

The Oxford English Dictionary is the internationally recognized authority on the evolution of the English language from 1150 to the present day. The Dictionary defines over 500,000 words, making it an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, pronunciation, and history of the English language. This new upgrade version of The Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition on CD-ROM offers unparalleled access to the world's most important reference work for the English language. The text of this version has been augmented with the inclusion of the Oxford English Dictionary Additions Series (Volumes 1-3), published in 1993 and 1997, the Bibliography to the Second Edition, and other ancillary material. System requirements: PC with minimum 200 MHz Pentium-class processor; 32 MB RAM (64 MB recommended); 16-speed CD-ROM drive (32-speed recommended); Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 200, or XP (Local administrator rights are required to install and open the OED for the first time on a PC running Windows NT 4 and to install and run the OED on Windows 2000 and XP); 1.1 GB hard disk space to run the OED from the CD-ROM and 1.7 GB to install the CD-ROM to the hard disk: SVGA monitor: 800 x 600 pixels: 16-bit (64k, high color) setting recommended. Please note: for the upgrade, installation requires the use of the OED CD-ROM v2.0.

A smorgasbord of surprising, obscure, and exotic words In this delightful encore to the national bestseller A Word A Day, Anu Garg, the founder of the wildly popular A Word A Day Web site (wordsmith.org), presents an all-new collection of unusual, intriguing words and real-life anecdotes that will thrill writers, scholars, and word buffs everywhere. Another Word A Day celebrates the English language in all its quirkiness, grandeur, and fun, and features new chapters ranging from "Words Formed Erroneously" and "Red-Herring Words" to "Kangaroo Words," "Discover the Theme," and "What Does That Company Name Mean?" In them, you'll find a treasure trove of curious and compelling words, including agelast, dragoman, mittimus, nyctalopia, quacksalver, scission, tattersall, and zugzwang. Each entry includes a concise definition, etymology, and usage example, interspersed with illuminating quotations. Praise for a word a day "Anu Garg's many readers await their A Word A Day rations hungrily. Now at last here's a feast for them and other verbivores. Eat up!" --Barbara Wallraff, Senior Editor at The Atlantic Monthly and author of Word Court "AWADies will be familiar with Anu Garg's refreshing approach to words: words are fun and they have fascinating histories." --John Simpson, Chief Editor, Oxford English Dictionary

"Anu Garg's many readers await their A Word A Day rations hungrily. Now at last here's a feast for them and other verbivores. Eat up!" -Barbara Wallraff Senior Editor at The Atlantic Monthly and author of Word Court Praise for A Word a Day "AWADies will be familiar with Anu Garg's refreshing approach to words: words are fun and they have fascinating histories. The people who use them have curious stories to tell too, and this collection incorporates some of the correspondence received by the editors at the AWAD site, from advice on how to outsmart your opponent in a duel (or even a truel) to a cluster of your favorite mondegreens." -John Simpson, Chief Editor, Oxford English Dictionary "A banquet of words! Feast and be nourished!" -Richard Lederer, author of The Miracle of Language Written by the founder of the wildly popular A Word A Day Web site (www.wordsmith.org), this collection of unusual, obscure, and exotic English words will delight writers, scholars, crossword puzzlers, and word buffs of every ilk. The words are grouped in intriguing categories that range from "Portmanteaux" to "Words That Make the Spell-Checker Ineffective." each entry includes a concise definition, etymology, and usage example-and many feature fascinating and hilarious commentaries by A Word A Day subscribers and the authors.

PLEASE NOTE - this is a replica of the print book and you will need a pen and paper to complete the exercises. The perfect introduction to English vocabulary for children aged 6-9 as they take the first steps towards learning English as a foreign language. This beautifully illustrated vocabulary ebook for children introduces your child to the essentials of English vocabulary. English for Everyone Junior: 5 Words a Day presents your child with 5 new words to learn and practise each day for four days, then tests these words through a variety of engaging exercises on day five. Over the course of one year, your child will build up a vocabulary of more than 1,000 commonly used English words. All the vocabulary is sorted into themes that reflect children's everyday lives (such as toys, clothes, and food), and each set of words is accompanied by a beautiful illustration that helps your child to fix those words in their memory. The daily "test yourself" practice utilizes cleverly designed flaps which hide the words your child has just learned. English for Everyone Junior: 5 Words a Day provides the necessary foundation for children who are about to start studying English at school, as well as solid support for those who are already learning the language. English for Everyone Junior: 5 Words a Day covers the vocabulary used in the Cambridge Young Learners Exams and more, and corresponds to bands pre-A1 through to A2 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

Are you sometimes lost for words when you're trying to say or write something in English? Are you unsure how one is supposed to pronounce paradigm, or for that matter, renaissance? Do you wish you knew the difference between ingenious and ingenuous, collaborate and corroborate? Then this book is for you! Compiled from the world-renowned Collins English Dictionary, Word of the Day will clear many a doubt you might have, increase your word power, and entertain you even as you learn. It's a book to dip into every day of the year.