The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language

Reviews

Sissy

Without being too pedantic, it hilariously segues from one term to a related word in a flippant and chatty style. Forsyth strings together etymologies in the most delightful way. 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. It is quite informative but side-splitting in the venerable British humorous style of P G Wodehouse and Douglas Adams.

J Miller

Here is a gem – a medieval recipe from 1450: Puddyng of Porpoise. Spoiled slightly by the damage to the book cover Again, get the book for further elucidation – it has a connection to the creators of the Oxford English Dictionary. An utter delight.

Dippy

Language is assessible. One term needs to be corrected from autopenotomy to autopenectomy. A recondite, yet risqué romp through the remote origins of the English language as we know today. Perfect gift for word-lovers- like Brewer, only shorter, more lively and more conversational.

Baden Eunson

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. Well written. Great book.

Some are a bit dodgy, but that's par for the course in this arena. A real achievement. It's a really interesting story of how the English language evolved.