Sociology, like most disciplines, has a language of its own-a language that may seem mysterious to the lay person and confusing at times to the student. Since individual sociologists sometimes assign new meanings to old terms, even experienced scholars in the field at times admit to some confusion. A Modern Dictionary of Sociology fills a long-felt need for a thoroughly reliable lexicon that is both broad in scope and convenient in size.

"The Theodorsons have put together the most comprehensive and useful dictionary of sociology known to me. The entries are wide-ranging, the definitions as crisp as one could hope for and the longer discussions instructive. It should be of use for sociologists. students and all others wanting to understand the technical language of our trade."

-Robert Merton, Columbia University

George A. Theodorson, professor of sociology at Pennsylvania State University, has published widely in professional journals and books, and his writings have been translated into several languages. Achilles G. Theodorson, a member of the American Sociological Association, has long been engaged in sociological research. In preparing this volume the Theodorsons researched more than a thousand volumes of sociological literature