This reference dictionary provides a user-friendly pronunciation guide for over 12,000 placenames worldwide. Avoiding the unconventional characters and symbols of the traditional International Phonetic Alphabet, it follows an easy-to-read phonetic alphabet which uses only standard English letters. From Aachen, Germany (pronounced Ah kun) to Zywiec, Poland (pronounced Zhi vets), entries include familiar world placenames, both historic and current, as well as several less familiar names which have uncertain or difficult pronunciations. An appendix provides a useful directory to the most...

Adjacent or adjoining? Abuse or misuse? Consist, comprise, constitute, or compose? Guarantee or warranty? Pose, propose, or propound? Stationery or stationary? The "Dictionary of Confusable Words" aims to clear up the confusion in such cases. In more than 1,100 entries, the meaning of 3,000 individual words are given, the difference between them is explained, and an illustrative example showing the correct usage is provided.
The book also includes specific examples to show past and present usage of words, and words occuring as the second or subsequent in a group are cross-referenced to...

This dictionary of 3,000 works of art explains the meaning behind the titles. The titles, mostly of paintings and sculpture, but also of some less traditional media, are arranged alphabetically by original title or English title.

Here are histories of the creation of 3,500 titles for symphonies, operas, oratorios, ballets, orchestral works, choral works, chamber music, keyboard compositions, and songs, ranging from the popular to the obscure.

Contains over 4,500 name changes worldwide, ranging from small villages to entire countries.

A geographical dictionary that lists past and present alternate names of more than 7,000 places. It focuses on placenames with official or semiofficial status rather than nicknames or colloquial abbreviations. It also includes Appendices that focus on placenames in non-English languages and on places which have been renamed in fictional works.

From Arles, Bibliotheque Nationale and fontana to sanctus, Joinville-le-Pont and Notre-Dame-des-Champs, this work is an alphabetical dictionary of over 4000 placenames in both France and Corsica. Natural features such as rivers, mountains and islands; administrative regions such as historical provinces and modern departments; and inhabited centers such as cities, towns and villages are all listed here. When possible, entries include examples of the early forms of the names and cross-references are provided as appropriate. The text concludes with four appendices: 'Key Elements in French...

The specialized jargon of some sports can be quite esoteric. Non-Americans, for example, are likely puzzled by baseball terms such as bunt, cut-off man, and safety squeeze, while non-British (as well as a number of British) are likely puzzled by cricket's Chinaman, doosra, golden duck, off-break, popping crease, and yorker. This new dictionary gives the definitions of over 8,000 terms used in sports and games from around the world, including mainstream sports like basketball and billiards alongside the more obscure netball and snooker. Entries cover sports equipment, strategies, venues,...

A placename is often much more than just a label. A name may bespeak the history of a nation, the culture of a people, or the hopes of an individual. Such connections are revealed in this very large reference work on placenames of the world, which offers an in-depth look at the origins of each. First published in 1997, the work in this new edition contains over 6,000 entries, including 1,000 new placenames from previously under-represented areas such as China and Japan. Entries cover natural features such as mountains, rivers and lakes as well as manmade entities such as cities and countries....

This work gives the origins and meanings of geographical and political features of the former Soviet Union. All 15 countries that were once part of the U.S.S.R. are included. Each of the over 2,000 entries provides, first, the name of the feature along with its Cyrillic counterpart, followed by the country, and the geographical location within the country; an account of the name's origin and meaning then follows, with appropriate historical, topographical and biographical references. Cross references provide former names and alternate spellings or forms of current names.