Humanities

Did you know that it used to be the custom to fight at Scottish funerals until blood was drawn? If you've ever wanted the definitive answers on subjects such as black cats, magpies and spilt milk, look no further than this classic, critically acclaimed dictionary. Hundreds of superstitions and beliefs, including spells, cures, rituals, taboos, charms, and omens are covered, and illustrated by quotations that trace their development through the centuries. Subjects include advice on the signs to observe when getting married, the significance of animals, plants, stones, colours, food and drink, the elements and heavenly bodies, precautions to be taken after a death in the house, and many more. Superstitions are arranged alphabetically by subject, and fully cross referenced for easy browsing. In addition to providing quotations illustrating references to superstitions in everyday life , the dictionary also contains a wealth of information illustrating the history of popular superstition. For example, the lucky horseshoe was protection against witches in the sixteenth century, and touching wood may be a lingering memory of the veneration attached to the relics of the cross. Both informative and accessible, this dictionary is a browser's delight, and a fascinating work of reference for anyone with an interest in superstitions and their history.

The Dictionary of Mind, Matter, and Morals contains more than 1000 selections from over 100 of Russell’s books and articles. It serves as an introduction to Russell’s brilliance in analysis, argument, and exposition which develops a clear notion of his method of approach, his fundamental principles and many of his leading ideas. Here is found definitions and terms reflected in the topics of Matter, Mind, and Morals. Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, social reformer, and pacifist. Although he spent the majority of his life in England, he was born in Wales, where he also died. Russell led the British "revolt against Idealism" in the early 1900s and is considered one of the founders of analytic philosophy along with his protégé Wittgenstein and his elder Frege. He co-authored, with A. N. Whitehead, Principia Mathematica, an attempt to ground mathematics on logic. His philosophical essay "On Denoting" has been considered a "paradigm of philosophy." Both works have had a considerable influence on logic, mathematics, set theory, linguistics and analytic philosophy. He was a prominent anti-war activist, championing free trade between nations and anti-imperialism. Russell was imprisoned for his pacifist activism during World War I, campaigned against Adolf Hitler, for nuclear disarmament, criticised Soviet totalitarianism and the United States of America's involvement in the Vietnam War. In 1950, Russell was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, ""in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought.

For more than a century Black's has been the gold standard for the language of law. Today it is the most widely cited law book in the world. Edited by Bryan A. Garner, the world s leading legal lexicographer, the 9th Edition is the most authoritative, comprehensive law dictionary ever published. It contains more than 45,000 terms and includes: 2,000 more terms than the 8th Edition and 19,000 more than the 7th Edition including click fraud, Code Adam, collaborative law, ecoterrorism, environmental tort, friendly subpoena, happy-slapping, honor crime, secret detention, Schumer box, and super precedent. The date when selected terms were first used in English-language contexts, especially in judicial opinions. Heightened accuracy having more than 200 lawyers around the country reviewed terms. Definitions of more than 1,000 law-related abbreviations and acronyms. Almost 3,000 quotations drawn from sources over five centuries. Alternate spellings or equivalent expressions for more than 5,300 terms and West Key Numbers.

The most wide-ranging, comprehensive, and up-to-date dictionary of archaeology available. Over 4,000 entries cover the terms encountered in academic and popular archaeological literature, in lectures, and on television. Topics covered include artefacts, techniques, terminology, people, sites, and periods, and specialist areas such as industrial and maritime archaeology. The second edition is fully revised and updated, now including 150 new entries on archaeological sites, terms, movements, and people, plus extended coverage of archaeological resource management and archaeological theory. The dictionary's primary focus is on Europe, the Old World, and the Americas, as these are the regions where archaeology has become an established academic and vocational subject, but it includes key archaeological sites around the world. A quick-reference section covers chronological periods around the world, Egyptian rulers and dynasties, Roman rulers and dynasties, rulers of England to AD 1066, and principal international conventions and recommendations. New to this edition, recommended web links for over 100 entries are updated on the Dictionary of Archaeology companion website.

Compiling the results from contemporary and exciting areas of research into one single important volume, this book stands ahead of its field in providing a comprehensive one-stop Handbook reference of biblical interpretation - With relevant bibliographies and a guide to further reading, this Dictionary will be an extremely important reference held for many years, not only by libraries, but also by students, scholars, clergy and teachers of this fascinating and high-profile subject.

The field of education is vitally important but it involves a specialized vocabulary and terminology which may be unfamiliar to those new to the discipline. The new Dictionary of Education provides clear and concise definitions for 1,250 terms that anyone studying education or involved in teaching is likely to encounter. Coverage includes all sectors of education: pre-school, primary, secondary, further and higher education, special needs, adult and continuing education, and work-based learning. It also includes major legislation, key figures and organizations, and national curriculum and assessment terminology. The dictionary features entry-level web links, accessible and kept up to date via the Dictionary of Education companion website. Detailed appendices include a timeline summary of landmark educational legislation since 1945 and a glossary of acronyms. In addition, there is a useful, fully cross-referenced section of comparative terms used in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and South Africa. This up-to-date and authoritative dictionary is essential for all students of education and teachers at every level, and it is strongly recommended for classroom assistants and parents

This fully revised and updated dictionary of modern and contemporary art contains over 2,000 entries on a vast range of subjects, including movements, styles, techniques, artists, critics, schools, and galleries. Fascinating, comprehensive, and authoritative, it is an essential A-Z guide for art students and teachers, artists, and art lovers.

Covers over 150 years of international design, including ceramics, furniture, graphics, industrial design, interiors, and fashion, as well as biographical entries on designers, manufacturers, major museums and heritage sites. This dictionary serves as a useful student reference tool.

Patrice Pavis is one of France's most brilliant academics and a leading expert internationally in the theory of theatre. Dictionary of the Theatre is an English translation of Pavis's acclaimed Dictionnaire du theatre, now in its second printing in France.This encyclopedic dictionary includes theoretical, technical, and semiotic terms and concepts. Alphabetical entries range from 'absurd' to 'word scenery' and treat the reader to a vast panoply of theatre and theory. The extended discussions are supported by useful examples drawn from the international repertoire of plays and playwrights, both classic and contemporary. The Foreword is by Marvin Carlson.This dictionary is remarkably well integrated, partly because of its excellent system of cross-referencing, but also because it represents the vision and scholarship of a single, recognized authority. There is no other source like it available and it will be warmly welcomed by the English-language theatre world.

A Complete Dictionary of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, French, German, Spanish, English, and Such Other Words, Phrases, Abbreviations, and Signs as Are to Be Found in the Works of Auber, Beethoven, Bertini ... and Other