The Etymologicon A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language

Mark Forsyth — 2011

THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER. 'Witty and erudite ... stuffed with the kind of arcane information that nobody strictly needs to know, but which is a pleasure to learn nonetheless.' Nick Duerden, Independent. 'Particularly good ... Forsyth takes words and draws us into their, and our, murky history.' William Leith, Evening Standard. The Etymologicon is an occasionally ribald, frequently witty and unerringly erudite guided tour of the secret labyrinth that lurks beneath the English language. What is the actual connection between disgruntled and gruntled? What links church organs to organised crime, California to the Caliphate, or brackets to codpieces? Mark Forsyth's riotous celebration of the idiosyncratic and sometimes absurd connections between words is a classic of its kind: a mine of fascinating information and a must-read for word-lovers everywhere. 'Highly recommended' Spectator.

Reviews

Pierre@pst

Apr 4, 2024

Also super short. Lovely.

Ashlyn@demonxore

Oct 20, 2023

Not very rigorously researched, but quite entertaining. Recommended for anyone interested in the origins of common words and phrases.

Sarah Escorsa@shrimpy

Mar 8, 2022

This is a fantastic read and probably the most interesting book I have read so far this year. I love words and their hidden meanings so this book was a great find. I enjoyed Mark Forsyth’s writing a lot. At first it all seems a bit chaotic (with the origin of one word kind of slipping to the next) but I got used to it and ended up liking it a lot. Forsyth is an amusing writer and doesn’t take himself seriously, which is refreshing for this kind of book. It is entertaining, funny and educational and the type of book you can’t help reading excerpts from to anyone within earshot. I would love to quote snippets from The Etymologicon right here but I’m afraid Goodreads doesn’t allow that many characters in a review. A must-read for anyone who loves words.

Jade Flynn@jadeflynn

Nov 20, 2021

'A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language'. - (it does exactly what it says) SO GOOD! Without a doubt I'll be picking up Forsyth's 'The Horologicon' sometime later on in the year!