12mo. xi, [1], 290pp. Title page a cancel. Although the signatures read 'Vol. I' throughout, and there is mention of an upcoming second volume in the introductory remarks, it would appear Vol. II was never published; however, a two volume 'new edition' did appear in 1837. Original publisher's brown cloth, printed paper lettering-piece. Lightly rubbed and marked, loss to lettering-piece. Endpapers renewed, fore-edge of title page shaved, with archival tape reinforcement to gutter.

The first London-printed edition of an authoritative treatise on the derivation of popular English language phrases and rhymes - with particular emphasis placed on those word forms that no longer convey their original intended meaning. The section on nursery rhymes is especially intriguing as it pairs the contemporary versions of popular rhymes with approximations of their original Anglo-/Low-Saxon composition, as the author states; 'The translations, in the modern form of our language, having neither the metre nor the poignancy of the originals, appear flat and comparatively insipid.' The work, a departure from the norm for John Bellenden Ker (1764-1842), whose only other published efforts were articles on botany, was first printed at Southampton in 1834.