The Life of Language: The Fascinating Ways Words Are Born, Live & Die

If time travelers from the nineteenth century dropped in on us, our strange vocabulary would shock them just as much as our TVs, cars, and computers. Society changes, and so does its word stock. The Life of Language reveals how pop culture, business, technology, and other forces of globalization expand and enrich the English language, forming thousands of new words every year. In this fascinating and jargon-free guide, lexicographers Kipfer and Steinmetz reconstruct the births of thousands of words, including infantries, poz, mobs, Soho, dinks, choo choos, frankenfoods, LOL, narcs and perps.

· A word lover’s guide to etymology, written in a fun, informal, and accessible style
· An excellent resource for vocabulary building; a word's root helps readers understand its meaning
· Beautifully packaged paperback with French flaps

Barbara Ann Kipfer is a lexicographer, archaeologist, and the author of more than 25 books, including How it Happens, 4,000 Questions for Getting to Know Anyone and Everyone, 14,000 Things to Be Happy About, and The Order of Things.

Sol Steinmetz is a well-known lexicographer and former editor–in–chief at Random House Reference.