Gallimaufry: A Hodgepodge of Our Vanishing VocabularyWhen did you last hear someone refer to the wireless? What was the original paraphernalia? Would you wear a billycock? Language is always changing, and in Gallimaufry: A Hodge-Podge of Words Vanishing from Our Vocabulary Michael Quinion has gathered together some fascinating examples of words and meanings which have vanished from our language. Sometimes a word is lost when the thing it describes becomes obsolete, sometimes it survives in a figurative sense while the original meaning is lost, and sometimes it simply gives way to a more popular alternative. The story of these and many other words opens a window into the lives of past speakers of the English language. |
Contents
Food and Drink | 4 |
Health and Medicine | 52 |
Entertainment and Leisure 9335 | 96 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
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