Etymology


The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
The Horologicon: A Day's Jaunt Through the Lost Words of the English Language
Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States
Dictionary of Word Origins: Histories of More Than 8,000 English-Language Words
Word Perfect: Etymological Entertainment For Every Day of the Year
The Story of English in 100 Words
Word Origins ... and How We Know Them: Etymology for Everyone
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English
Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts, Tinctures, Tonics, and Essences; With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory
Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global
Babel
Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language
Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary by Merriam-WebsterHope in the Valley by Penelope BourdillonThe Oxford English Dictionary by John Andrew SimpsonOxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary by A.S. HornbyEats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
Dictionaries
389 books — 67 voters

Course in General Linguistics by Ferdinand de SaussureThe Language Instinct by Steven PinkerAn Introduction to Language by Victoria A. FromkinThe Study of Language by George YuleMetaphors We Live By by George Lakoff
Best Books about Linguistics
256 books — 224 voters

Mary Roach
The suffix 'naut' comes from the Greek and Latin words for ships and sailing. Astronaut suggests 'a sailor in space.' Chimponaut suggests 'a chimpanzee in sailor pants'. ...more
Mary Roach, Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

Terry Pratchett
Vimes had believed all his life that the Watch were called coppers because they carried copper badges, but no, said Carrot, it comes from the old word cappere, to capture.
Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms

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