Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2013 10:08:13 GMT 10
My son put me onto this collection.
Comprising two books by Mark Forsyth, the first volume 'The Etymologicon' explores the origins of some curious words in English and cleverly segues between chapters.
Example...
'Botulism' derives from the Greek word for 'sausage' since it was noted in the early days, those who suffered the disease had frequently just consumed the sausages of dubious quality of the day. By a quirk of coincidence, the bacterium discovered centuries later is indeed sausage shaped!
The second volume, 'The Horologicon' ( which I am yet to read) examines unusual and lost words.
An entertaining read for those fascinated by the origin of some of our most curious words.
Comprising two books by Mark Forsyth, the first volume 'The Etymologicon' explores the origins of some curious words in English and cleverly segues between chapters.
Example...
'Botulism' derives from the Greek word for 'sausage' since it was noted in the early days, those who suffered the disease had frequently just consumed the sausages of dubious quality of the day. By a quirk of coincidence, the bacterium discovered centuries later is indeed sausage shaped!
The second volume, 'The Horologicon' ( which I am yet to read) examines unusual and lost words.
An entertaining read for those fascinated by the origin of some of our most curious words.
