The Browser's Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases

by Mary Varchaver, Frank Ledlie Moore, Gorton Carruth (Foreword)

""Kudos (Greek), encomiums (Latin), and accolades (French) to the authors for their enlightening and amusing lexicon, a testament that English is the most cheerfully democratic and hospitable language ever cobbled together.""-Richard Lederer, author of The Miracle of Language From angst to zydeco, the ultimate guide to foreign terms and phrases This handy, practical, and browsable A-to-Z reference tells you all you need to know to understand, pronounce, and appreciate the nearly 2,000 foreign words and phrases commonly used by speakers and writers of English. The Browser's Dictionary covers a wide variety of subject areas and includes loan-words from more than sixty languages around the world, such Latin (desideratum) * the romance languages (rapprochement, macho, imbroglio) * German (gestalt) * Russian (gulag) * Hebrew (shibboleth) * Yiddish (shtick) * Persian (tambura) * Hindi (purdah) * Arabic (loofah) * Hawaiian (kanaka) * Creole French (zydeco) * and Japanese (netsuke) In addition, each entry * A guide to pronunciation using easy-to-understand transcriptions from ordinary English * Comprehensive literal and idiomatic definitions * The word's source language, as well as its literal meaning The Browser's Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases is sure to become a favorite reference for anyone with an interest in words and language.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 8, 2001

Reviews

[DW]

There are tons of foreign words and terms in the American English language, (duh, English is not an ancient original language). But many of these foreign words are considered part of the every day English vernacular, and can be found in common and pocket (not just unabridged) English dictionaries. 

Words like: wanderlust, pundit, bravado, debacle, concierge, nirvana, powwow, safari, hubris, debut, and one of my favorites, kindergarten. Words we speak freely and see daily but never give much consideration.

How awful, our planet is at war but our cultures are laced with interconnectivity. Latent, unyielding, and perpetual. Assimilations that go beyond the import of fashion or the topical frottages of pop music. We literally speak each other's language!

It's great (and fun) to now have many of these words in one book and learn where they all came from.

Knowing the origins of common terms and phrases feels like I've been let in on a secret; it produces a feeling that's indescribable, a certain "je ne sais quoi"