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The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language Paperback – October 2, 2012

by Mark Forsyth (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 2,425 ratings
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This perfect gift for readers, writers, and literature majors alike unearths the quirks of the English language. For example, do you know why a mortgage is literally a “death pledge”? Why guns have girls’ names? Why “salt” is related to “soldier”? Discover the answers to all of these etymological questions and more in this fascinating book for fans of of Eats, Shoots & Leaves.

The Etymologicon is a completely unauthorized guide to the strange underpinnings of the English language. It explains how you get from “gruntled” to “disgruntled”; why you are absolutely right to believe that your meager salary barely covers “money for salt”; how the biggest chain of coffee shops in the world connects to whaling in Nantucket; and what, precisely, the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening. This witty book will awake the linguist in you and illuminate the hidden meanings behind common words and phrases, tracing their evolution through all of their surprising paths throughout history.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Berkley
  4. Publication date
    October 2, 2012
  5. Dimensions
    5.16 x 0.94 x 7.7 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780425260791
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0425260791
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“The stocking filler of the season...how else to describe a book that explains the connection between Dom Perignon and Mein Kampf.”--The Observer

“Crikey...this is addictive!”--The Times

“Mark Forsyth is clearly a man who knows his onions.”--Daily Telegraph

About the Author

Mark Forsyth is a writer, journalist, proofreader, ghostwriter, and pedant. He was given a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary as a christening present and has never looked back. He is the creator of The Inky Fool, a blog about words, phrases, grammar, rhetoric, and prose.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0425260798
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley; Reprint edition (October 2, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780425260791
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0425260791
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.16 x 0.94 x 7.7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 2,425 ratings

About the author

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Mark Forsyth

Mark Forsyth

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Mark Forsyth is the author of several books on language, including, most recently, The Illustrated Etymologicon. He has also written books about drunkenness, Christmas traditions, and bookshops. He studied English at Oxford University, and lives in Clerkenwell, London.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

William L Hampton
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is just marvelous.
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2022
Verified Purchase
Its meandering style and constant barrage of factoids make this book excellent for reading aloud—especially since listeners can leave and return and miss parts without feeling lost. Its style also make it easy to put down and pick up again, no matter how much or how little reading time you have to spare in a given session. Though you might find yourself engrossed and unable to put it down!

That said, there is so much to learn that I was tempted to stop after every page, so that I could digest and synthesize all the new, very accessible information and show off my new knowledge to friends—and random strangers, and neighbors on grocery lines. I have to assume the author, who seems to be of the same inclination, would approve,
10 people found this helpful
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Jeffrey
5.0 out of 5 stars A glorious journey behind the curtain look at the marvels and mysteries, and glories of English!
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2020
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I purchased this book in audio format first, and loved it so much, I had to be able to read it. I then bought the Kindle version. Wanting a way to be able to flip around more quickly, add annotations and underlines of my own, I capitulated and purchased the physical book. Worth every penny! Amazing!

The author is an obvious genius and he uses his encyclopedic knowledge and sharp sense of humor to bring the hidden and colorful history of our amazing language to life. Irreverant, snarky, witty, biting and sublime; a fun romp through history, common culture and delicious arcana lurking behind every syllable! A masterpiece of scholarship and humor.
7 people found this helpful
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RCBLAKE
4.0 out of 5 stars Not really what I was looking for.
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2018
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This is an amusing read, if you’re looking for that. If you’re just becoming interested in etymology this may be a pleasant place to start. If you’re well into the study of word origins and evolution, you may already be familiar with most of the backstories in this book. However, the author does present the information in a lightly comical manner and I actually enjoyed that aspect.
27 people found this helpful
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B Badgett
5.0 out of 5 stars A witty look into history and why we say the things we say.
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2023
Verified Purchase
A funny and interesting look into the history of language, how words change over time, and authors who are notorious for making things up as they go. His voice captured me (not literally but figuratively) from the very beginning and kept me reading all the way to 'The End.'
One person found this helpful
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Book Lover
5.0 out of 5 stars If you like words and word origins, this is the book for you!
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2017
Verified Purchase
If you like words and word origins, this is the book for you! Mark Forsyth has a clever way with words and a British sense of humor that keep this book from becoming just another dry reference book. I was fascinated to learn that the words "black" and "white" have the same root word (the Old German "blakke") which became "black" in English and "blanc" in French, which is the root of our word for "blank". The confusion started when the Old Germans couldn't decide whether burning wood turned black (like charcoal) or white (like ashes) so after a while they got bored with it and went to sack Rome. That is the sort of explanation you find in this book. There are some rather saucy words in there, too. He keeps it clean, but it is not for the ultra-prudish. That being said, I enjoyed this book so much that I couldn't put it down. I recommend it highly!
20 people found this helpful
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bracken
5.0 out of 5 stars Love!!!
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is not only humorous and well written but very informative- especially for people who like to know weird, useless information like me. I had this on Audible already, but I liked it so well I bought the hard copy. I’ve passed it around to a couple of people and they absolutely loved it too. I’m getting his other ones soon. He must be a blast at parties!
One person found this helpful
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John Pierce
5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing, Humorous, Insightful Book
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2019
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As a word-nerd, I love learning about the origins of words and phrases, and this book fulfills that desire, by bringing out, in humorous fashion, the origins of many words and phrases we take for granted. The author also points out how many words are connected to each other, in some cases where it ought to be obvious (e.g., Bikini Atoll and bikini the bathing suit) and in many cases not at all obvious. If you love words, you should love this book!
5 people found this helpful
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K. Keenan
3.0 out of 5 stars yikes
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2019
Verified Purchase
I love etymology and find it very useful to help me understand language as a whole- so I was pretty psyched for a book like this! I had hoped it would just reveal something interesting about common words and phrases, but no... it truly is as the title says: circular. I'm not sure about the "stroll" part. Maybe if you think a stroll is getting dragged lightly by a lame horse. Maybe it's just the author's writing style, but I found it to be annoying and smug. I ended up throwing this in the donation pile because it was just that unreadable.
27 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Cliente de Amazon
4.0 out of 5 stars Gran libro
Reviewed in Mexico on July 8, 2022
Verified Purchase
Interesantísimo libro acerca del origen y desarrollo de muchas palabras. Muy bien escrito aunque sí se requiere un nivel de inglés ya a nivel literario. Le pongo 4 estrellas porque el papel con que fabricaron la portada no es un tacto agradable y se ensucia con mucha facilidad. Hubiera valido la pena una sobrecubierta.
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Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars Joy of reading
Reviewed in Canada on November 14, 2021
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Definitely one of my best favorite. I wish it had 2 and 3 of this book.
One person found this helpful
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Antonio Suarez Abreu
5.0 out of 5 stars Etimologia é importante!
Reviewed in Brazil on August 16, 2019
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O livro é ótimo. Resgata a importância de saber a origem das palavras, não apenas do ponto de vista linguístico, mas também histórico e cultural.
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susanna bassano
5.0 out of 5 stars la storia attraverso le parole
Reviewed in Italy on February 10, 2020
Verified Purchase
Libro ricco di curiosità spiegate in modo colto. Lo ho regalato ed è stato molto apprezzato.
2 people found this helpful
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Dippy
5.0 out of 5 stars Origins of English Words
Reviewed in India on July 31, 2019
Verified Purchase
A recondite, yet risqué romp through the remote origins of the English language as we know today. Without being too pedantic, it hilariously segues from one term to a related word in a flippant and chatty style. It is quite informative but side-splitting in the venerable British humorous style of P G Wodehouse and Douglas Adams.

Here is a gem – a medieval recipe from 1450:

Puddyng of Porpoise. Take the Blode of hym, & the grece of hym self, & Oatmeal, & Salt, & Pepir, & Gyngere, & melle these togetherys wel, & then put this in the Gut of the Porpoise, & then lat it seethe esyli, & not hare, a good while: & then take hym up, & broyle hym a lyti, & then serve forth.

This is an example of an antanaclasic sentence (it keeps using the same word in different senses; get the book for the details): Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

One term needs to be corrected from autopenotomy to autopenectomy. Again, get the book for further elucidation – it has a connection to the creators of the Oxford English Dictionary.
Customer image
Dippy
5.0 out of 5 stars Origins of English Words
Reviewed in India on July 31, 2019
A recondite, yet risqué romp through the remote origins of the English language as we know today. Without being too pedantic, it hilariously segues from one term to a related word in a flippant and chatty style. It is quite informative but side-splitting in the venerable British humorous style of P G Wodehouse and Douglas Adams.

Here is a gem – a medieval recipe from 1450:

Puddyng of Porpoise. Take the Blode of hym, & the grece of hym self, & Oatmeal, & Salt, & Pepir, & Gyngere, & melle these togetherys wel, & then put this in the Gut of the Porpoise, & then lat it seethe esyli, & not hare, a good while: & then take hym up, & broyle hym a lyti, & then serve forth.

This is an example of an antanaclasic sentence (it keeps using the same word in different senses; get the book for the details): Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

One term needs to be corrected from autopenotomy to autopenectomy. Again, get the book for further elucidation – it has a connection to the creators of the Oxford English Dictionary.
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9 people found this helpful
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