What are words? Where do words come from? How are they used? Answering these questions and more, this book guides you through the key concepts in the lexicology of modern English. Providing an overview which encompasses all aspects of English vocabulary, this book explains the sources of modern English words and shows how the vocabulary has developed over time. Thoroughly updated throughout to keep pace with recent developments in the field, this third edition features: - Enhanced chapters on vocabulary, dictionaries and investigative lexicology - New sections on contemporary topics such as internet language, social media and youth culture - Guides to new electronic resources and tools of analysis - Exercises throughout each chapter, with an updated answer key - A revised list of suggestions for further reading Assuming no prior knowledge of linguistics, and featuring exercises and a fully updated glossary of lexicological terms to support your learning, An Introduction to English Lexicology is the only book you need to understand the basics of English lexicology.

A linguistic introduction to the structures and meanings of English words Lexicology is about words, their meanings and the relationships between them, their origins and their structure. It combines the study of derivational morphology with lexical semantics. This textbook explores the history, meanings and structure of words, the way they are collected in dictionaries and the way they are stored in our minds. It goes beyond examining the morphological structure of words to examine the way words are spelt and the way they sound. At every stage, the book focuses not only on description, but also on the puzzles that words present. Supported by numerous examples, exercises, discussion questions, suggestions for further reading and a glossary, this is an accessible and lively guide to the linguistic study of English through the consideration of words. Key Features: -Covers orthography, synonyms, hyponyms, figurative language, semantic analysis, loan words and dictionaries -Considers the history and morphological structure of English and the influence of borrowing from French, Latin and Greek -Includes examples, exercises and discussion questions in each chapter -Includes a glossary of key terms and suggestions for further reading Laurie Bauer is Emeritus Professor of Linguistics at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

This work goes back to the sources of modern English words and studies the development of vocabulary over time. It examines what constitutes a word, with a discussion of words that look and sound the same, words that have several meanings, and "words" that are made up of more than one "word". As well as considering the borrowing of words from other languages throughout the history of English as a means of increasing the vocabulary, the book also outlines how English forms new words by exploiting the structure of existing words, through processes of derivation and compounding. The meaning of a word is composite of a number of relations: reference to external context, relations with other words of a similar or opposite meaning, collocational relations, and so on. The book grapples with the meaning problem, but then goes on to look at the contexts in which words are used and the purposes for which they are used, raising the question whether it is more sensible to talk about English "vocabularies" rather than English "vocabulary".

Essays demonstrating how the careful study of individual words can shed immense light on texts more broadly.

Words, Meaning and Vocabulary: An Introduction to Modern English Lexicography is a systematic and accessible introduction to the lexicology of modern English. Lexicology is the branch of linguistics that studies all aspects of the vocabulary of a particular language. The book provides an account of the sources of modern English words and studies the development of vocabulary over time. It examines: What are words? Where do English words come from? How are words made up? How do words 'mean'? How are words used? How can words be investigated? This new edition of the best-selling textbook has been revised and updated throughout. This second edition features: - Updated chapters on dictionaries and corpus linguistics - Summaries of content at the beginning of each chapter - A revised list of suggestions for further reading - A new glossary Words, Meaning and Vocabulary is an essential introduction to lexicology for undergraduate students.

Outline of English Lexicology: Lexical Structure, Word Semantics and Word Formation.