Tom Read Wilson - Every Word Tells a Story

Words in the English language have sometimes taken a journey from all over the world to reach our tongues.

Throughout the book, youll come across these specialized terms that are used by all lovers of words. These words are picked out in bold the first time they are used.

AbbreviationA shortened form of a word.AcronymThe first letters of a set of words, put together in such a way that they can be pronounced as an ordinary word: FOMO is fear of missing out.ClippingThe part of a word remaining when some of it has been removed.CoiningA new, invented word.DefinitionThe meaning of a word.DialectA particular way of speaking or using words that belongs to a specific region or group of people.EponymA word based on the name of a particular personreal, fictional, or mythological.EtymologyThe study of the origins of words.InitialismIf the letters from a set of words are put together and each letter must be separately pronounced, then it is an initialism. Most initialisms are formed using the first letters of words, such as FYI for for your information. But there are many exceptions, such as TV, which takes its V from the middle of television.LexicalAnything to do with the words or vocabulary of a language could be described as lexical.NicknameA familiar and often funny word or phrase used to describe a particular person or thing.OnomatopoeiaOnomatopoeic words sound like the thing or action that they are used to name. Cuckoo and plop are both examples.PortmanteauA word that blends the sounds and also combines the meanings of two others, for example brunch, which comes from breakfast and lunch.RootThe part of a word that can be traced back to an older language.SynonymA word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase; for example large is a synonym of big.VernacularEveryday language.

Aardvarks , like pigs, have a lovely, long snout

For sniffing where termites and ants are about.

They snuffle at nighttime for all they are worth

And use their strong claws for digging the earth.

In Dutch Afrikaans we are given a clue

By splitting their name from one into two:

Aard is the earth and piggy is vark .

For only an earth pig eats ants in the dark!

Aardvark: A nocturnal badger-sized burrowing mammal found in Africa

Word origin: Afrikaansa language similar to Dutch spoken in some parts of southern Africa

Meaning in source language: Earth pig

Etymologically speaking

The Old English word for nose is snowte . This is where snout comes from. It might also explain why so many words to do with noses start with the letters sn. Snort, snore, snivel, sniffle, snuffle and snot are just some examples.

Whats in a name?

The guinea pig is named after Guinea in West Africa, probably by mistake since it comes from South America and is a rodent, not a pig!

Wounded French soldiers in the 18th century would be treated in a hpital ambulant or walking hospital . Pulled by horses, these really did go at a walking pace. When French and British soldiers fought side by side in the Crimean War, the word entered our language as ambulance . Luckily, they now go a lot faster. Unlike the contraption that you were probably pushed along in when you were just a babe. A strollerwhich British people call a prammakes it easy for an adult to ambulate (or walk) with a baby in tow!

Anemones are beautiful flowers that have wide, plate-like petals and come in oodles and oodles of cheerful colors. They love woodlands and the shade: they typically thrive in cool and breezy spots. No wonder their attractive name means daughter of the wind in Greek. They make their home in the places many flowers try their best to avoid.