"The American poet and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson described the English language as "the sea which receives tributaries from every region under heaven." With more than 4,000 entries, this dictionary explains the meanings and origins of terms that have entered the English lexicon from foreign tongues.".

"Drawn from the fields of language and literature, religion, law, politics and economics, music, entertainment, and cuisine, entries include a definition of the word or phrase in English; language of origin; meaning in the original language; part of speech; pronunciation; and examples or quotations to illustrate usage.".

"The dictionary features entries adopted from countless languages, including French (mise-en-scene), German (Sturm und Drang), Latin (quo vadis), Arabic (mujahideen), Russian (glasnost), Chinese (tao), Greek (hoi polloi), Turkish (kismet), Italian (lingua franca), and many others."--BOOK JACKET.