Love, Sex, and Marriage: A Historical Thesaurus

In: Costerus New Series 118

Abstract

If the language we use influences and reflects the way that we see the world, then the fields of LOVE, SEX, and MARRIAGE, will show how speakers of English view their closest social and emotional relationships. Love, Sex, and Marriage provides a classification of English terms for these three fields from the earliest written records of the language until the present day. This volume makes it possible to trace changing attitudes towards social and sexual ties, and to understand those ties as earlier speakers of English did, through the language they used. The terms are arranged by meaning, and are listed chronologically within semantic fields, with their dates of usage. Notes on individual terms provide further information about their connotations and development. Language does not exist in isolation from the people who speak it, so background information about changes in social conditions, religious beliefs, and medical advancements is also included. A brief introduction to basic semantic terminology explains the principles behind the classification, and an alphabetical index facilitates the location of individual terms