Meaning in the History of English

Uncovering the meaning of individual words or entire texts is a complex process that needs to take into consideration the multiple interactions of linguistic organization including orthography, morphology, syntax and, ultimately, pragmatics. The papers in this volume pay close attention to these interactions and assess both the details of the texts and entire texts within their relevant contexts. All the papers deal with data from the history of English, and they cover a wide range from Old English manuscripts to Early Modern English letters and medical texts to Late Modern English cant vocabulary.