The Etymologicon

Mark Forsyth

2011 • 252 pages

Ratings1

Average rating3

Springing from writer and journalist Mark Forsyth's hugely popular blog The Inky Fool and including word-connection parlour games perfect for any word-lovers get-together, The Etymologicon is a brilliant map of the secret labyrinth that lurks beneath the English language. There's always a connection. Sometimes, it's obvious: an actor's role was once written on a roll of parchment, and cappuccinos are the same color as the robes of a Capuchin monk. Sometimes the connection is astonishing and a little more hidden: who would have guessed that your pants and panties are named after Saint Pantaleon, the all-compassionate?

Genre

English language

Want to edit this book?Become a Librarian

Popular Reviews

Reviews with the most likes.

blackmore

Overflowing with cool “facts”* but unfortunately I can't bore people at parties with them because the pace of the book is so relentless that none of it has time to sink in and I forget everything I just read as soon as I put it down. A book like this would be better served as a series of entries like a dictionary, although that would negate the whole steam of consciousness thing it's going for. At least there are section headers.

There's a lot of “slight exhalation through the nose” humour, although sometimes it's off-putting in a way I can't quite articulate.

Anyway a fun read though I would hesitate to recommend. Probably has great reread value due to me having retained barely any of it.

*I would be uncomfortable repeating any of them because the bibliography page is basically “trust me bro”. I'm not asking for full Harvard referencing but is it that hard to write a list of sources? If, as he claims, it would be “too long” then just put it online somewhere. His blog is still up 13 years after publication so link rot wouldn't have been an issue.

June 10, 2024