A Dictionary Of British Surnames
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
What's in a name? For the etymologist, the genealogist, and the curious alike, A Dictionary of British Surnames answers that question with extraordinary depth and scholarly precision. Compiled by P. H. Reaney and revised with corrections and additions by R. M. Wilson, this definitive reference work catalogues thousands of British family names, tracing their origins through centuries of linguistic evolution — from Old English, Norse, Norman French, and beyond — to illuminate the rich, layered history embedded in everyday surnames. A landmark in the field of onomastics, this second edition stands as an indispensable resource for historians, linguists, and family researchers seeking authoritative etymological grounding. Reaney's meticulous scholarship presents each entry with documented historical forms and earliest known usages, arguing convincingly that surnames are not mere labels but living fossils of a nation's past. Whether you carry a name as common as Smith or as obscure as Featherstonehaugh, this volume promises to reveal the surprising story behind it — and perhaps behind you.
Author: P. H. Reaney
Format: Hardback
Genre: Dictionaries
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
What's in a name? For the etymologist, the genealogist, and the curious alike, A Dictionary of British Surnames answers that question with extraordinary depth and scholarly precision. Compiled by P. H. Reaney and revised with corrections and additions by R. M. Wilson, this definitive reference work catalogues thousands of British family names, tracing their origins through centuries of linguistic evolution — from Old English, Norse, Norman French, and beyond — to illuminate the rich, layered history embedded in everyday surnames. A landmark in the field of onomastics, this second edition stands as an indispensable resource for historians, linguists, and family researchers seeking authoritative etymological grounding. Reaney's meticulous scholarship presents each entry with documented historical forms and earliest known usages, arguing convincingly that surnames are not mere labels but living fossils of a nation's past. Whether you carry a name as common as Smith or as obscure as Featherstonehaugh, this volume promises to reveal the surprising story behind it — and perhaps behind you.