America in So Many Words: Words That Have Shaped America [Paperback]

This book presents a unique historical view of American English. It chronicles year by year the contributions Americans have made to the vocabulary of English and the words Americans have embraced through the evolution of the nation. For important years from the settlement of Jamestown until 1750, and for every year from 1750 through 1998, a prominent word is analyzed and discussed in its historical context. The result is a fascinating survey of American linguistic culture through past centuries. The authors -- both lifelong students of American English -- bring great depth of understanding to these key words that have made America, and American English, what they are today.

This highly selective etymological dictionary of more than 300 of the best and the brightest American words was compiled by two longtime students of American English--Barnhart, a lexicographer, and Metcalf, a college professor of English. Arrangement is chronological. The words chosen--a representative one for selected years from 1555 (canoe) to 1748 (buck), and one for each year from 1750 to 1998--are discussed in historical context, sometimes updated with contemporary quotations and with additional words similar to or connected to the key word or phrase. For example, the entry sexism and ageism (1969) mentions other -isms, and Watergate (1972) mentions other -gate terms. Black-and-white illustrations accompany some entries. The introduction has a note on sources, which include titles such as The Dictionary of American Regional English, The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, and the periodical Barnhart Dictionary Companion, as well as standard English-language dictionaries.

The entries are organized into six chapters, from The English in America: 1497^-1750 to Nearing the Millennium: 1945^-1998. Words are assigned to the year in which they were newly coined or newly prominent. Entries range in length from half a page to just over a whole page. Some exlÓï