A Word for All Seasons - Couverture rigide

Crystal, David

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 1851246770 ISBN 13 : 9781851246779

Editeur : Bodleian Library, 2026

Synopsis

Silly season, spring chicken, Shrovetide, dog days, Halloween, wassail, Snowtober, Hogmanay and over 100 other words and phrases are brought together here to show how seasonal vocabulary has become one of the most productive areas of the English lexicon. Words associated with spring, summer, autumn – or fall – and winter, along with ‘season’ itself, have long been used creatively in such worlds as commerce, politics and the arts; music and painting especially provide famous cases of the popular appeal of the 'four seasons'. The entries in this book, alongside idioms, extracts from poetry and exquisite engravings by Eric Ravilious, demonstrate how these words and phrases have spread throughout the language.

Each entry gives an account of historical origins, tracing the development of meaning over time, and concluding with examples of current usage in everyday situations, some of which are decidedly unexpected. Appendices provide etymologies for the months of the year and wonderfully evocative folklore names for moons. 

Few other lexical domains would bring together St Augustine, Antonio Vivaldi, James Joyce and Stormzy – just four of some 200 personalities that enliven the pages of this fascinating book.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

David Crystal is a writer, editor, lecturer, and broadcaster on language. His books include The Stories of English (2004), Wordsmiths and Warriors: The English-Language Tourist's Guide to Britain (with Hilary Crystal, 2013), The Oxford Dictionary of Original Shakespearean Pronunciation (2016) and The Story of Be: A Verb's-Eye View of the English Language (2017).

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Bodleian Library
• Date d'édition: 2026
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1851246770
• ISBN 13: 9781851246779
• Reliure: Relié
• Illustrateur: Eric Ravilious
• Nombre de pages: 248
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible