Betrumped

New B-format paperback edition. The story of over three thousand words that today are forgotten, unfamiliar and increasingly rare. A funny and fascinating window on the rich history of the English language.

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Words change: they immigrate and emigrate. They reflect changing fashions and roam across centuries. This book delves into their origins:

Where do words come from?
How do their meanings change?
Why do we stop using them?

This book explores over 3000 words. It explains how they have arrived from over 100 different languages. It traces their changing meanings since Samuel Johnson first compiled his dictionary, and finally identifies many words that are endangered through lack of use.

As we rush headlong into a world of social media acronyms and smiley faces, now is the time to rescue and enjoy gems that have slipped away and to remember that, if words are not used, they will go the way of the Dodo.