The average contemporary English speaker knows 50,000 words. Yet stripped down to its origins, this apparently huge vocabulary is in reality much smaller, deriv
This dictionary gives the intriguing origins of hundreds of everyday words and expressions. Useful for reference and fun just for browsing, Dictionary of Word O
Written in a funny, charming, and conversational style, Word Origins is the first book to offer a thorough investigation of the history and the science of etymo
A guide to the science and process of etymology for the layperson explains how the origins and history of hundreds of words are determined, discussing such topi