Colonial American English: A Glossary

by Richard Lederer

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0930454197
• ISBN13: 9780930454197
• Release Date: January 1985
• Publisher: Verbatim Books
• Length: 267 Pages
• Weight: 2.16 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Useful, Entertaining, and Concise

This volume best serves a general audience - either those with a love for words, or those who'd like an affordable book on hand to reference when reading early American texts. Also it would be very helpful to a writer attempting to accurately represent the language of the period. I would not classify it as an academic book - the scope of words addressed is ample but not comprehensive. The descriptions contain limited information on words origins and specific times/places of usage. In fairness, the author himself states in the preface, "...this glossary does not attempt to replace the Oxford English Dictionary.." The book runs alphabetical, but there is also an index at the end (pages 251-267) that lists all the words by topic, which is quite handy for writers. Topics include agriculture, clothing, earthly terms [sexual intercourse, prostitutes, etc.], Fabrics, Fauna and Flora, Food and Drink, Games, Dances Musical Instruments, Household Contents, Law and Punishment, Medicine, Military and Nautical, Occupations, Places and People, Religion, Transportation, Weights and Measures. There is a significant bibliography for those interested in additional resources. There is not any supplemental content that delves into commentary of language usage in Colonial America - this is strictly a glossary, albeit a very enjoyable one.