Welcome to The Word List.

This is intended to be a sort of glossary of some of the churchy words that come up in Sunday School and confirmation classes and the like.

The aim is that The Word List should function as a sort of network of ideas with lots of links and cross-references.

Personally, I'm fascinated by words and their meanings and the connections between words from the past and words from the present and how ideas in words get passed from one language to another even if they're subtly changed on the way.

But please note that The Word List is not meant to be a work of scholarship with academic references backing up its every assertion. And, of course, it's bound to put a very personal slant on the explanations it offers.

And no doubt some folks, happening by chance upon The Word List, will want to disagree with some of the explanations offered here. Well, they're welcome to email me at vicar@honeyhill.org with constructive suggestions. But please remember that I am aiming to offer helpful explanations rather than rigorous definitions and that I would hope to stimulate further enquiry rather than discourage continuing exploration by seeming to give complete and final answers. All the same, suggestions for improvements will be welcomed - together with proposals for other words which might be added to The Word List net.

Happy hunting!

Now follow the link to the The Word List index.

© J D Yule 2003