I found this a bit depressing as it's a dictionary that shows how many derogatory terms about women there are, and how words that started out as neutral or as applying to both genders ended up female specific and perjorative. ( )

A collection of small articles on the origins and etymology of 300-odd words applied to women. Fascinating, charting the depth and history of ingrained attitudes about women. ( )

Feminist author selects 300 English words which relate to women, and explores their semantic history.

Shows, with hundreds of examples, that in spite of the claims of objectivity [xiii], dictionaries are filled with prejudice beyond the prescriptive.

This work presents words which have changed over time, becoming positive ("wicked") or perjorative ("effeminate"), or back-and-forth or both simultaneously ("nice"), or switching the gender reference ("honey"). Womanwords within categories are illlustrated -- those that define women as edible (dish, tart), or even more extensive, depicted as animals (bat, bitch, filly). Not all the themes drawn out of the anglophonics reveal misogyny. Many powerful etymological roots are positive, or reveal shared values. The study exposes assumptions, and enables us to rethink what we mean.

The author is a documentarian living in London. ( )

Not just a collection of words, but a collection of the stories behind the words. I like it. ( )