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4★
“Author’s Note:
This book began as two simple questions: Do words mean different things to men and women? And if they do, is it possible that we have lost something in the process of defining them?
I have had a love–hate relationship with words and dictionaries my whole life. I have trouble spelling words and I frequently use them incorrectly (affluent, after all, sounds so much like effluent, it really is an easy mistake to make).”
The author sets out to show how words are overlooked or discard ...more
“Author’s Note:
This book began as two simple questions: Do words mean different things to men and women? And if they do, is it possible that we have lost something in the process of defining them?
I have had a love–hate relationship with words and dictionaries my whole life. I have trouble spelling words and I frequently use them incorrectly (affluent, after all, sounds so much like effluent, it really is an easy mistake to make).”
The author sets out to show how words are overlooked or discard ...more
A lovely book about words, the power of words, & how they were pinned down for the first Oxford English Dictionary - those fluttery, flimsy butterflies that they were. That the words accepted into the dictionary followed fairly strict guidelines for inclusion is hardly surprising given the people doing the compiling. I imagine there were a lot of words lost that were commonly used in speech but rarely printed. It's no surprise that the women's words that did make it in were often used to denigra
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Review to come
The Dictionary of Lost Words was an interesting read. I liked the way it examined the idea of words meaning different things to different people, and the sense of censorship of language. Esme was an interesting character whose story I engaged with completely when she was a child/young woman. However, I did find myself losing interest a little in the final quarter of the book, when the language-seeking aspects of the story gave way somewhat to her romance. As such this was a four-star read for me
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What an absolute delight. If you love a good saga, etymology and dictionaries, the suffrage movement, WWI tales, feminism and the bonds between women, this is the book for you. If it had just been about one of those things, it would have been good, but the combination is riveting. I remember going over to our neighbours Pat and Von to gaze upon their full OED set, so very jealous of all the knowledge they had sitting there. This is easily my favourite book of the year so far, and I highly recomm
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A lovely book with some interesting ideas and clearly well researched. Maybe a smidge too long? Maybe some plot points were unnecessary. But the final chapters were moving.
Sep 13, 2020
Alison Connell
added it
Sep 14, 2020
Lucinda
is currently reading it
Jan 27, 2021
Ceels
marked it as to-read
4.5 stars
Jun 08, 2022
Chris
marked it as to-read
Jan 20, 2023
Magdalena
added it
