Throughout history, events great and small have left their mark on the way we speak. Columbus' discovery of America introduced to Europe new foodstuffs such as chilli and chocolate and the words that described them. The Normans gave us the feudal system and curfews, while the flourishing of Dutch art in the seventeenth century introduced easels, etchings and landscapes. Before the 1970s green was a colour with connotations of naivete rather than ecology and until 1990 webs were mostly attached to spiders. Starting from 1066 and working through to the modern day boom in techno-speak, Dictionary of English Down the Ages links hundreds of words with the historical upheavals and minor social changes which gave them life.

Words are the building blocks of language, but their derivations are often stories in themselves. Have you ever wondered why we wear perfume, read magazines, vote for candidates, speak in jargon? With entries from Accolade to Zoo and including such disparate items as 'blackmail', 'fiasco', 'influence' and 'rigmarole', Dictionary of Word Origins explains the origins and development of 300 commonly used words. Essays scattered throughout the book deal with more general topics such as 'A Taste of India', 'Days of the Week' and 'Precise Timing' and allow the authors to expand on broader themes. The result is an indispensable guide to the richness and diversity of the English language and an endless source of fascination for anyone who delights in words.