Womanwords

Booknews

Originally published by Longman (UK) in 1989. Offers extensive histories of such words as dowager, minx, coquette and harpy. The bibliography is impressive. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

WomanSource Catalog & Review: Tools for Connecting the Community for Women

Language is always evolving and as dynamic as life itself; words gather and shed meanings through time and usage. Words are rarely absolute because the values and beliefs of the society that uses them change often. In reference to women, there are myriad meaning words and terms whose meaning today are much different than they were originally. As Womanwords aptly conveys, the etymology of many expressions can be engaging and maddening. The birth and history of words exposes the evolution of culture and explains the transformation of words through usage. Jane Mills skillfully describes, word-by-word, how our vocabulary has been transformed laden with sexist undertones and elitist innuendos. This resource is a central source for reexamining discriminatory language.
—SH