A Century of New Words, by John Ayto (used)

Second-hand copy — condition: very good.

A Century of New Words follows the words added to English from 1900 into the early 21st century, from plastic (1909) to podcasting (2004). It moves through the century a decade at a time: each section opens with an essay on the historical, cultural and scientific currents behind that decade's new vocabulary, followed by an A–Z of the words first recorded in it, with their meanings and origins — motor-bike, talkie, flapper and Blitzkrieg among them. A final section covers the vocabulary of the new millennium. The book is based on John Ayto's Twentieth Century Words, also published in hardback as Movers and Shakers. A reference book to dip into, for anyone who loves words.

Oxford University Press, 2007. Paperback. 256 pages. ISBN 9780199213696.