Adrian Room

Adrian Richard West Room (27 September 1933, Melksham – 6 November 2010, Stamford, Lincolnshire) was a British toponymist and onomastician, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a prolific author of reference works relating primarily to the origins of words and place-names.

Between 1952 and 1979, Room served in the Royal Naval Reserve, Special Branch, retiring as a lieutenant commander. Before becoming a full-time author, he was employed at King's College School, Cambridge, where he taught modern languages and was a senior house master. He later, until 1984, worked as a senior lecturer in Russian for the Ministry of Defence.

Selected publications

Place-Names of the World. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1974.
Place-name changes since 1900: A world gazetteer. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980. ISBN 0710007027
Naming Names: Stories of Pseudonyms and Name Changes with a Who's Who. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981. ISBN 0710009208
Dictionary of Trade Name Origins. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982. ISBN 0710008392
Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase & Fable. 2000. (editor) ISBN 9780304350964
Cassell's Foreign Words and Phrases. London: Cassell & Co., 2000. ISBN 0304350087
A. to Z. of British Life
Dictionary of Confusable Words
Bloomsbury Dictionary of Place Names in the British Isles
A Dictionary of True Etymologies
Who's Who in Classical Mythology
Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins (this edition was published after his death)
Cassell's Dictionary of Word Histories
Dictionary of Irish Place Names
Cassell's Dictionary of First Names
The Guinness Book of Numbers
Room's Dictionary of distinguishables
Ntc's Dictionary of Changes in Meaning
The Fascinating Origins of Everyday Words
Brewer's dictionary of names
Tuttle dictionary of dedications
Room's Dictionary of Differences
Concise dictionary of word origins
Ntc's Dictionary of Word Origins
Dictionary of Confusing Words and Meanings
Dunces, Gourmands & Petticoats
Cassell Dictionary of Proper Names
A Concise Dictionary of Modern Place Names in Great Britain and Ireland
Dictionary of Changes in Meaning
Nicknames of Places: Origins And Meanings of the Alternate And Secondary
Dictionary of Coin Names. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1987. ISBN 0710206461
African Placenames
Dictionary of Translated Names and Titles
Dictionary of Cryptic Crossword Clues
Dictionary of Dedications
Room's Classical Dictionary
The Street Names of England
The Hutchinson Pocket Dictionary of Confusible Words
Dictionary of Astronomical Names
A dictionary of contrasting pairs
The Naming of Animals
A Dictionary of Art Titles
Guide to British Place Names
Dictionary of World Place-names Derived from English Names
The Pronunciation of Placenames: A Worldwide Dictionary
Dictionary of place-names in the British Isles
A Dictionary of Music Titles
Alternate Names of Places: A Worldwide Dictionary
Ntc's Dictionary of Trade Name Origins
Placenames of France
Bloomsbury Dictionary of Dedications
Literally Entitled
Encyclopedia of corporate names worldwide
Ntc's Classical Dictionary
Cassell's Dictionary of Modern American History
Hutchinson Pocket Dictionary of First Names
The Hutchinson Pocket Dictionary of Place Names
Placenames of Russia and the Former Soviet Union
Room's Dictionary of Distinguishables and Confusibles
An Alphabetical Guide to the Language of Name Studies
Dictionary Of British Place Names

References

1 2 Contemporary Authors, Gale, 2002; accessed 20 May 2013.
↑ "Room Adrian (Notice of death)". Rutland & Stamford Mercury. Stamford Mercury Group. 12 November 2010.
↑ Cover notes, Place-Name Changes Since 1900: A world gazetteer. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980. ISBN 0710007027
↑ Contributor biographical information for Brewer's dictionary of modern phrase & fable/compiled by Adrian Room, Library of Congress, 21 May 2013; retrieved 21 May 2013. Archived here.
↑ "Adrian Room". Book Alliance, New Delhi. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
↑ Adrian Room (20 September 2012). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. McFarland. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-7864-5763-2.

[gale-1] 1 2 Contemporary Authors, Gale, 2002; accessed 20 May 2013.

[ARdeathnotice-2] "Room Adrian (Notice of death)". Rutland & Stamford Mercury. Stamford Mercury Group. 12 November 2010.

[3] Cover notes, Place-Name Changes Since 1900: A world gazetteer. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980. ISBN 0710007027

[4] Contributor biographical information for Brewer's dictionary of modern phrase & fable/compiled by Adrian Room, Library of Congress, 21 May 2013; retrieved 21 May 2013. Archived here.

[AdrRooBookAll-5] "Adrian Room". Book Alliance, New Delhi. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.

[Room2012-6] Adrian Room (20 September 2012). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. McFarland. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-7864-5763-2.

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