Professor M. A. K. Halliday (b. 1925) was Foundation Professor of Linguistics at the University of Sydney, Australia, until his retirement and has taught as a Visiting Professor around the world. As a self-styled 'generalist' he has published in many branches of linguistics. Colin Yallop is Adjunct Professor at Macquarie University, Australia.

• 1. Lexicology - M. A. K. Halliday; 1.1. What is a Word?; 1.2. Methods in Lexicology: the Dictionary; 1.3. Methods in Lexicology: the Thesaurus; 1.4. History of Lexicology: India, China, the Islamic World, Europe; 1.5. Evolution of the Dictionary and Thesaurus in England; 1.6. Recent Developments in Lexicology; 1.7. Sources and Resources; 2. Words and Meaning - Colin Yallop; 2.1 Words in Language; 2.2 Words and Meaning; 2.3 Etymology; 2.4 Prescription; 2.5 A Social View of Language and Meaning; 2.6 Saussure and Firth; 2.7 Cognitive Linguistics; 2.8 Language and Reality; 2.9 Language and Languages; 2.10 Translation; Bibliography.

"This book is exactly what the title and subtitle imply: it is a short introduction to the study of words... This text fulfills its purpose admirably. It is a very good read as well, drawing on a remarkable knowledge of language and languages. One feature that is quite helpful is the use of bold test for terms which are deemed important enough to make it into the glossary, allowing for easy cross reference...This text makes fascinating foray into these matters from the perspective of the word, though, and for that alone is valuable to those who lean towards a social and functional view of language." — Derek Irwin, The Linguist List, July 2008