Dictionary of Archaic Words

London England: Bracken Books. Very Good/Good. 1989. 1st Bracken Books Edition. Cloth. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" Tall Octavo 185170261X Hardcover Hardcover. Dictionary of Archaic Words by James Orchard Halliwell. Piece of D/J. missing from back. This facsimile edition of a work first published in 1850 contains references to more than 51,000 words, some of them in use as far back as the fourteenth century. The compiler, James Halliwell, embarked on his remarkable project with the intention of providing a glossary of early English words that would be unfamiliar to non-academic readers of medieval and Renaissance literature. He recognized also the extent to which local dialect had pervaded the writing of previous centuries. As wekll as a definition of its meaning, therefore, each entry has been given either and illustrative quotation from a literary source or a specific indication of its geographical origins. An indispensable guide for the serious student of literature and linguistics, this book also offers a wealth of fascinating information for everybody who takes an interest in the history and regional development of the English language. 960 pp. (We carry a wide selection of titles in The Arts, Theology, History, Politics, Social and Physical Sciences. Academic and Scholarly books and Modern First Editions ,and all types of Educational Reference Literature.) .