English Through the Ages | 
 enlarge | Author: William Brohaugh
Publisher: Writer's Digest Books
Category: Book
List Price: $24.99
Buy Used: $2.56
You Save: $22.43 (90%)
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Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 232406
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 586
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.5
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 7.6 x 1.8
ISBN: 0898796555
Dewey Decimal Number: 420
EAN: 9780898796551
ASIN: 0898796555
Publication Date: December 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Excellent customer service. Order inquiries handled promptly.
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Amazon.com
"Laptop," "quality time," "politically correct," "wannabe," and "spin doctor"--these terms are all such mainstays of our modern-day vernacular that it's hard to believe they are only about 15 years old. It seems equally unlikely that, even in the year 1150, a person could live life in the "fast lane," eschewing his own "flesh and blood" and "sleeping with a comely whore" at his "summerhouse." Such a "witless turd" could even "tap" an "ice-cold keg," after which he might just "spew" his "guts" out. This hefty volume is sure entertainment for anyone interested in knowing that the word "smooch" is about 350 years older than the word "oink," that in the 1600s a "prick" was a nice guy, and that women were getting "knocked up" by the year 1665 (a good 30 years, for what it's worth, after the first recording of the phrase "women's rights"). --Jane Steinberg
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 historical word usage March 3, 2008
What a great book! Extremely useful to any writer of historicals or just great fun for anyone with an interest in history to browse in. I would recommend this highly.
 Excellent Tool June 3, 2007
I have used this book over and over again to find when words were in use. If you need that then this is your book, a MUST HAVE. Use the Amazon "Look Inside" and go to Excerpt and you will see. There are several ways to use this book, you can go to the Index and find a word with a page number. You can go to the time period you need say "In use by 1500" and find the type of word you need e.g., "Slang" in use by 1550,(Some are funny, check out -fumble). Easy to use and it's almost 600 pages long, quite a reference book like no other. I only wish there was an updated version, I would buy it sight unseen. I would say this is an incredible tool for writers, history & word geeks.
Indispensable Reference tool for Writers December 16, 2004
For writers of historical fiction, plays, or screenplays, this is an indispensable tool, as important as a dictionary. It not only helps you avoid anachronisms, it introduces you to words you never would have found by any other means. Other reviewers have described the format, so I won't go over that, but I want people to know that this book deserves 1,000 stars!
great reference for writers of historical fiction December 14, 2004
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
So many times I see historical writers using words I know does not go back to that era. Etymology is often left off from even good dictionaries these days in effort to cut costs and online website dictionary totally ignore this part, so there is often no quick reference to check when words came into use. This book fills that gap.
I am not sure the set up is perfect, but then unsure if any form would be. This one starts with 1150, listing words that came from that period, then jumps to 1350 to 1470, then 1500, 1550, 1600, 1650,1700, 1750, 1825, 1875, 1900 and 1920. 1950-1990 are done by decade. It has an index at the end so you are able to look up a word if you are unaware of the time period and back track.
This is a very useful resource for writers looking to rid their words of those pesky anachronisms.
A Plenteous and Pure Tome of the English Tongue April 16, 2001
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book belongs in your collection if you are interested in word useage through time. This book is particularly useful when you want to give your historical writing that extra oomph, and you want to use the right word for the right time. How about a quick insult? Flip to the proper time frame, say 1350, and Lo! Words like "Lurdane" (dull, heavy, stupid, sluggish) and "Gig" (Sorry, this is a family website, you'll have to read the book)abound anon. You can also use the index to locate a particular word. The page numbers will tip you off as to where the word falls in the timeline. A very helpful, but not always employed, feature is the notation "u", meaning the word was in use until a particular time. This way, you can be confident that "gig" was a good insult "u1700". We are bounden to William Brohaugh.
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