Herstory

I subscribe to Oxford Dictionaries' (OD) word of the day and today's word is 'herstory'.

The OD's definition is 'history viewed from a female or specifically feminist perspective'.

The OED's entry for 'herstory' has yet to be updated (it dates back to 1993) but the entry is fascinating. The entry advises that 'herstory' occurs between 0.01 and 0.10 times per million words in typical modern English usage and that the word's etymology is a punning alteration of 'history' (fancifully reinterpreted as 'his story', implying that history has in the past been viewed predominantly from the male perspective), with his- replaced by her. The OED's earliest recorded use of the word is 1970 by R. Morgan in Sisterhood is Powerful.

My library offers all members access to the OED for free.

Parents
  • This is really interesting caretwo, thanks for posting. I have a fascination with words, their meanings, why and when they enter into society and their impact. It’s fascinating to see how powerful even tiny words can have on people. You might be interested in the book ‘plastic words’. It’s not easy to read but it’s fascinating and gives you a very clear insight into how society is shaped by words. 

  • I just checked Amazon for the book and it is too expensive for me at present.

Reply Children
  • I totally understand that caretwo, I am at the beginning of a long process of sorting all my things out and minimising all my belongings down to the bare minimum, so I’m avoiding, where I can, the temptation to bring more stuff into my house, no matter how tempting it seems. 

    I just had a look as well to see if they do a kindle version but alas it seems not yet (I would have got you it as a little treat) ~ it’s great to find someone else who loves words as much as I do so it would have been a treat for me as well to treat a fellow wordy :-) 

    If you should ever change your mind, at least you know there’s a copy available to you if you ever want a read of it and if I ever find it on kindle, I’ll zap it over to you. 

    You’re very welcome. 

  • Thank you, Former Member, that is kind of you. I am tempted, very tempted, to "yes, please" but it is at times like these that I have to remind myself that, as I now live in a self-contained annexe (rather than my own house), I just do not have the room.

    I do not even have the room to keep my current language books (Fowler's, Hart's, etc.) together. Most of the books are on top of a tallboy and the dictionary is on top of my small writing bureau.

    The lack of space is the reason why I received Kindle books for Christmas rather than physical books.

    Thank you again.

  • When I start sorting through my books caretwo, I’ll send you my copy if you’re interested. I haven’t read the whole book, it’s not an easy read for me but maybe you will find it easier to read than me and who knows when I’ll get round to reading it so it would be more use in your hands, if you’d like to read it.