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Alphabet

Alphabet   Reference library

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable (19 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2013
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Literature, Literary theory and cultural studies
Length:
236 words
Illustration(s):
1

The word goes back to Greek alphabētos, combining alpha and beta, the first two letters of the Greek

Bible

Bible   Quick reference

The Oxford Companion to the English Language (2 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2018
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Linguistics
Length:
3,836 words
Illustration(s):
1
A collection of sacred texts usually regarded as a unified whole and published as a book consisting of a number of books. For Christians these are in two groups, an Old Testament (OT), ... More
Brackets

Brackets   Quick reference

The Oxford Companion to the English Language (2 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2018
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Linguistics
Length:
605 words
Illustration(s):
1
The name for punctuation marks of various kinds that mark off (more strongly than pairs of commas) certain matter as distinct, parenthetical, or interpolated. Material set between brackets ... More
Coronet

Coronet   Reference library

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable (19 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2013
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Literature, Literary theory and cultural studies
Length:
92 words
Illustration(s):
1

A crown inferior to the royal crown. The coronet of the Prince of Wales has one arch fewer than the

Cross

Cross 1.   Reference library

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable (19 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2013
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Literature, Literary theory and cultural studies
Length:
2,503 words
Illustration(s):
1

The cross is not solely a Christian symbol originating with the crucifixion. In Carthage it was used for ornamental purposes.

Great Vowel Shift

Great Vowel Shift   Quick reference

The Oxford Companion to the English Language (2 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2018
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Linguistics
Length:
214 words
Illustration(s):
1
A sound change that began c.1400 and ended c.1600, changing late middle english long, stressed monophthongs from something like the sounds of mainland European languages to those that they ... More
Grimm’s Law

Grimm’s Law   Quick reference

The Oxford Companion to the English Language (2 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2018
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Linguistics
Length:
175 words
Illustration(s):
1

The first Germanic sound shift, a statement of the relationship between certain consonants in germanic languages and their originals in Indo-European (IE), first described in ...

Initial Teaching Alphabet

Initial Teaching Alphabet   Quick reference

The Oxford Companion to the English Language (2 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2018
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Linguistics
Length:
424 words
Illustration(s):
1
A controversial adaptation of the Roman alphabet (sometimes called an augmented Roman alphabet) intended as an aid for children and adults learning to read and write English. It was ... More
International Phonetic Alphabet

International Phonetic Alphabet   Quick reference

The Oxford Companion to the English Language (2 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2018
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Linguistics
Length:
320 words
Illustration(s):
2
An alphabet developed by the International Phonetic Association to provide suitable symbols for the sounds of any language. The symbols are based on the Roman alphabet, with further ... More
Nine

Nine   Reference library

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable (19 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2013
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Literature, Literary theory and cultural studies
Length:
2,358 words
Illustration(s):
1

Nine, five and three are mystical numbers: the diapason, diapente and diatrion of the Greeks. Nine consists of a

Ogam

Ogam   Reference library

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable (19 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2013
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Literature, Literary theory and cultural studies
Length:
74 words
Illustration(s):
1

The alphabet in use among the ancient Irish and British peoples. There were 20 characters, each of which was composed

Oreads

Oreads   Reference library

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable (19 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2013
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Literature, Literary theory and cultural studies
Length:
41 words
Illustration(s):
1

nymphs of the mountains (Greek oros, ‘mountain’).The Ocean nymphs and Hamadryades,Oreads and Naiads with long weedy locks,

Palm

Palm   Reference library

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable (19 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2013
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Literature, Literary theory and cultural studies
Length:
425 words
Illustration(s):
1

The well-known tropical and subtropical tree gets its name from Latin palma, ‘palm of the hand’, from the spread-hand

Ptolemy

Ptolemy   Reference library

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable (19 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2013
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Literature, Literary theory and cultural studies
Length:
333 words
Illustration(s):
1

The name of a dynasty of 15 Macedonian kings of Egypt. They reigned longer than any other house in the

Rune

Rune   Reference library

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable (19 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2013
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Literature, Literary theory and cultural studies
Length:
96 words
Illustration(s):
1

A letter or character of the earliest alphabet in use among the Gothic tribes of northern Europe. Runic inscriptions most

Speech

Speech   Quick reference

The Oxford Companion to the English Language (2 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2018
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Linguistics
Length:
907 words
Illustration(s):
1

1. The primary form of language; oral communication in general and on any particular occasion: Most people are more fluent in speech than in writing...

Translation

Translation   Quick reference

The Oxford Companion to the English Language (2 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2018
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Linguistics
Length:
876 words
Illustration(s):
1
The restatement of the forms of one language in another: the chief means of exchanging information between different language communities. Translation is a fundamental yet often overlooked ... More
Vowel Quality

Vowel Quality   Quick reference

The Oxford Companion to the English Language (2 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2018
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Linguistics
Length:
489 words
Illustration(s):
1

A term in phonetics for the property that makes one vowel sound different from another: for example, /iː/ as in ...

Zodiac

Zodiac   Reference library

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable (19 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2013
Subject:
Language reference, History of English, Literature, Literary theory and cultural studies
Length:
274 words
Illustration(s):
1

The imaginary belt or zone of the heavens, extending about eight degrees each side of the ecliptic, which the

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