The Bibliophile's Dictionary

by Miles Westley

A Book Lover's Dictionary of Masterful Words and Phrases

How would you feel if someone called you temerarious? What about...

Puerile?

Gormless?

Pusillanimous?

Irenic?

Sesquipedalian?

Munificent?

Insouciant?

Lachrymose?

Obdurate?

Sedulous?

Captious?

Irascible?

Obstreperous?

Truculent?

Ineluctable?

Now you can easily find out what each of these words mean, and see examples of how they've been used by famous and infamous authors.

"The Bibliophile's Dictionary" is an exceptional collection of unusual words and phrases, usefully organized into specific categories such as personality traits, religion, myths, and mysticism, and household objects. Each word has a definition, a phonetic pronunciation, and an example of how the word is used in literature.

Enhance your own vocabulary by learning from the great minds of writers.

Genres: Reference, Language, Nonfiction

294 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Steven R. Kraaijeveld · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up a few years ago in one of my all-time favorite bookstores, which was located around the corner of my grandma's house; spending at least an hour in this bookstore became a ritual part of visiting her. Sadly, that bookstore no longer exists, which - perhaps even more regrettably - is no surprise, given the nature of the books that it sold. Hard-to-find works of philosophy, psychology, and history, as well as books on art, literature, and language - in short, my kind of assortment, but not the sort that simply sells itself. This book is representative and will always remind me of that place.

I love dictionaries and books of words; what I appreciate particularly about this one is that examples of the words are provided in the form of quotations from literature (I was very happy to find, for instance, an excerpt from The Brothers Karamazov for agglomerate). The words are divided into 15 overarching categories, so that you can find words quickly should you desire to use them in practice, for instance while writing. The categories are: Personality Traits, Personal Energy, Emotions, Family and Friends, The Lowly and Corrupt (my favorite), Knowledge, Language, and Philosophy, Drama, Religion, Myths, and Mysticism, Scenery, Local and Foreign, Visuals, Clothing, Perfume and Make-Up, Architecture, and Household Objects.

Obviously, the categories and the words depend to a large extent on the fancy of the author - but the list is not meant to be (and could not possibly be) exhaustive. They are 2,054 words and phrases that are fascinating to know and use. The words and phrases are not, overall, especially obscure - without meaning to brag, I was already familiar with many of them (although I probably could not have offered an exact definition for each of the familiar words). Again, the point, it seems, as the subtitle suggest, was to provide a body of 'masterful' words and phrases - not the most esoteric words in the English language. In this it succeeds.

The text is interspersed with apt and often humorous illustrations, which nicely breaks the monotony of the words-and-definitions. All in all, then, a lovely little book; one that would do no harm in anyone's library (nor the words in anyone's vocabulary).

[Rebecca]

A secondhand purchase from The Book Shop, Wigtown; I read the first 50 pages. The idea is of a treasury of slightly obscure vocabulary words, divided into thematic categories and grouped into synonyms. Each word or phrase is illustrated with an example of its usage in context in a work of literature, or in a few cases a newspaper article instead. I kept it as a bedside book for a number of weeks and moderately enjoyed reading a few entries per night. My main annoyances were that Westley often confuses forms, giving a definition for the adjective when he’s using the noun or vice versa, and that his field of reference is pretty narrow: he’s always quoting from authors like Saul Bellow, Pat Conroy, Jack London and Tom Wolfe – dead white guys. I’ll keep this around as a reference book but can’t see myself reading it all the way through.

[Prachi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure of how to rate and review a dictionary really! But I absolutely love this one. It's divided in sections like Personality Traits and Drama etc. Though my favorite is probably 'The Lowly and Corrupt'.
A must have for bibliophile's and writers.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and informative dictionary. Great for those (like me) that read dictionaries for fun.

[Kati · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, yes, I obviously haven't read this cover to cover. But after winning it as a summer reading prize several years ago, I finally feel I've used it enough to justify rating it. This is a perfect reference book for any avid reader to keep on their nightstand. I'd say it has about 95% of the unfamiliar words that I stumble across in my reading travels. Highly recommend – and don't forget to flip to the index first!

[Teela · Rating 5 out of 5]

A weirdly fun to read curated dictionary. The examples are incredibly entertaining and are probably at the core of what makes this book so fun.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

For word lovers only...

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to look, sound and be a dork/ snob, this is it. Not everyone knows what 'uxorial' means, or would be able to use it, but this book will help that.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic. I highly recommend this to anyone who is a lover of words that are not easily discovered in a generic desk dictionary.