Get Free Shipping on orders over $89
The Ring Of Words Tolkien And The Oxford English Dictionary : Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary - Peter Gilliver
eTextbook alternate format product

Instant online reading.
Don't wait for delivery!

Go digital and save!

The Ring Of Words Tolkien And The Oxford English Dictionary

Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary

By: Peter Gilliver, Jeremy Marshall, Edmund Weiner

Paperback | 23 July 2009

Sorry, we are not able to source the book you are looking for right now.

We did a search for other books with a similar title, however there were no matches. You can try selecting from a similar category, click on the author's name, or use the search box above to find your book.

Tolkien's first job, on returning home from World War I, was as an assistant on the staff of the Oxford English Dictionary. He later said that he had "learned more in those two years than in any other equal part of his life." The Ring of Words reveals how his professional work on the OED influenced Tolkien's creative use of language in his fictional world.
Here three senior editors of the OED offer an intriguing exploration of Tolkien's career as a lexicographer and illuminate his creativity as a word user and word creator. The centerpiece of the book is a wonderful collection of "word studies" which will delight the heart of Ring fans and word lovers everywhere. The editors look at the origin of such Tolkienesque words as "hobbit," "mithril, "Smeagol," "Ent," "halfling," and "worm" (meaning "dragon"). Readers discover that a word such as "mathom" (anything a hobbit had no immediate use for, but was unwilling to throw away) was actually common in Old English, but that "mithril," on the other hand, is a complete invention (and the first "Elven" word to have an entry in the OED). And fans of Harry Potter will be surprised to find that "Dumbledore" (the name of Hogwart's headmaster) was a word used by Tolkien and many others (it is a dialect word meaning "bumblebee").
Few novelists have found so much of their creative inspiration in the shapes and histories of words. Presenting archival material not found anywhere else, The Ring of Words offers a fresh and unexplored angle on the literary achievements of one of the world's most famous and best-loved writers.
Industry Reviews
`Review from previous edition a valuable contribution to study of the OED itself....The Ring of Words successfully reunites the academic and creative aspects of Tolkien.' John Garth, TLS `The Ring of Words is one of the most captivating works I ... have come upon in the last decade dealing with J. R. R. Tolkien or any aspect of his work.' Philip Kaveny, MBR Bookwatch `Here is God's plenty, but in a small package.' James Vanden Bosch, The Lion and the Unicorn

More in Lexicography

Mother Tongue : The Story of the English Language - Bill Bryson

RRP $26.99

$22.99

15%
OFF
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows - John Koenig

RRP $39.99

$31.75

21%
OFF
Dirty Politics : A-Z of trickery, treachery and other tasty treats - Macquarie Dictionary
An Emotional Dictionary : An Emotional Dictionary - Susie Dent

RRP $24.99

$21.75

13%
OFF
Introducing Second Language Acquisition : 3rd Edition - Muriel Saville-Troike
The Language and Thought of the Child : Routledge Classics - Jean Piaget
Child Language : A Resource Book for Students - Jean Stilwell Peccei

RRP $62.99

$41.99

33%
OFF
Second Language Acquisition : Second Language Acquisition - Rod Ellis
Key Topics in Second Language Acquisition : MM Textbooks - Vivian Cook
Language Learner Autonomy : Theory, Practice and Research - David Little