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The Etymologicon

The Etymologicon

A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language

by Mark Forsyth
Paperback
Publication Date: 02/10/2012

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  $45.99
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.

ISBN:
9780425260791
9780425260791
Category:
Historical & comparative linguistics
Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
02-10-2012
Language:
English
Publisher:
Penguin Publishing Group
Country of origin:
United States
Dimensions (mm):
195.83x130.56x20.57mm
Weight:
0.23kg
Mark Forsyth

Born in London in 1977, Mark Forsyth (a.k.a The Inky Fool) was given a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary as a christening present and has never looked back.

His book The Etymologicon was a Sunday Times No. 1 Bestseller, and his TED Talk 'What's a snollygoster?' has had more than half a million views.

He has also written a specially commissioned essay 'The Unknown Unknown: Bookshops and the Delight of Not Getting What You Wanted' for Independent Booksellers Week and the introduction for the new edition of the Collins English Dictionary.

He lives in London with his dictionaries, and blogs

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