An invaluable guide to the fascinating origins of everyday words crafted into pithy annecdotes and facts.

Words are everywhere. But do you know where your favorite words come from? Maybe they plop to the ground from high up in the sky! Or maybe workers piece them together in big factories. Or maybe they come from a one-of-a-kind word-maker . . . but who could that be? Vivid letter-filled illustrations explore imaginative ways words are made as this book shares the secret to creating new words.

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.

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 topics as folk etymology, changes of meaning in language history, borrowed words, and the methods of etymology.

Before a child can learn to read, they need to have a good, well-rounded understanding of basic words and what they mean. And while that may sound a bit overwhelming, there are very easy ways that you can build a preschooler's vocabulary and introduce early reading concepts. In fact, you probably do a whole lot of them normally, throughout the course of your day or week without even noticing it. The English language is made up of words from different places, events, and periods of time. Each of those words has an exciting story to tell us about where, when, how, and why they came about. This book is packed with easy-to-understand definitions and awesome word origin stories. With this dictionary for kids, you can understand the history and meaning of English words, improve your vocabulary and spelling, and learn to play with language. This unique dictionary for kids includes: Roots & branches―Learn about the building blocks that make up words, called roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Kid-friendly definitions―Look up definitions designed for your reading level in this dictionary for kids. Word tidbits―Find out where your favorite food words got their start, from bacon to marshmallow, spaghetti, yogurt, and beyond. Buy now.

A stunning nonfiction picture book about the global diversity hidden in the English language

Introduces more than 100 word roots and presents words stemming from each root.