Haggard Hawks and Paltry Poltroons: The Origins of English in Ten Words
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- Synopsis
- What do the following ten words all have in common - haggard, mews, codger, arouse, musket, poltroon, gorge, allure, pounce and turn-tail? All fairly familiar and straightforward words, after a little digging into their histories it turns out that all of them derive from falconry: the adjective haggard described an adult falcon captured from the wild; mews were the enclosures hawks were kept in whilst moulting; codger is thought to come from 'cadger', the member of a hunting party who carried the birds' perches, and so on.This, essentially, is what Ten Words is all about - the book collects together hundreds of the most intriguing, surprising and little known histories and etymologies of a whole host of English words. From ancient place names to unusual languages, and obscure professions to military slang, this is a fascinating treasure trove of linguistic facts.
- Copyright:
- 2013
Book Details
- Book Quality:
- Publisher Quality
- Book Size:
- 288 Pages
- ISBN-13:
- 9781472109415
- Related ISBNs:
- 9781472108067
- Publisher:
- Little, Brown Book Group Limited
- Date of Addition:
- 04/07/21
- Copyrighted By:
- Paul Anthony Jones
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Has Image Descriptions:
- No
- Categories:
- Humor
- Submitted By:
- Bookshare Staff
- Usage Restrictions:
- This is a copyrighted book.