Customer Reviews

The Oxford Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases (Oxford Paperback Reference)

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If you find yourself skipping words and phrases in articles and books that you sense everyone but you understands this is an excellent addition to your dictionary collection. After checking a number of similar reference books at the library I chose this one because it tells a little history of word/phrase usage in addition to just a translation, this allows you to put it into better context.

This book is an ideal reference for those of us who need to make sense of the foreign (non English) words and phrases encountered in English.

Examples include chaebol (Korean: a large business conglomerate); nebbish (Yiddish: a nobody); cum laude (Latin: with praise) and gung-ho (Chinese: work together).

Each of these words has been adopted within English with similar - but not always identical - meanings.

There are some 8000 examples of words and phrases from over 40 languages in this book.

Recommended for those who are interested in seeing practical examples of how English evolves to encompass offerings from other languages.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Although not arranged by countries of word orgin, as is true of smaller dictionaries such as Le Mot Juste, this is a full-fledge dictionary of foreign words, that goes well beyond just cognates and borrowed words across national boundaries.

It also gives some entomological information and pronunciation diphthongs as well as occasional synonyms and cognates.

The best of a good lot. Five Stars.

All lovers of language should consider purchasing this dictionary of foreign words & phrases. Without a doubt you will be enlightened by the wealth of information it has to offer. English is a widely spoken language with both native, second and third language speakers and many words and phrases used in English come from other languages especially French and Latin. This book provides many examples of these words and foreign phrases used in everyday speech as well as an explanation of the meaning and source language. This a recommended purchase and a very informative easy to read dictionary.

I gave this book to my mother who loves words. She absolutely loves it.

I bought this book for school and it was a great help to find the meaning of words and phrases in several different languages. A must book for travelers and anyone wanting to have a wider choice or words to express themselves better and improve their word power. It records the influx of words from a variety of other languages into both American and British English, concentrating especially on those introduced during the course of the twentieth century.