Here it is, folks—a book on etymology, written by a professor of entomology.
This is a useful book for anyone interested in the sciences, especially life sciences. Those unusual Latin names have meaning buried within, and with this book you can decode them for yourself.
I saw this come through the library as a hold about the time I was reading The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island, which features invented scientific names for the creatures, so I first thought of this book as a tool for developing those names. But then I wondered why it was only organized alphabetically by word root, and not by English meaning. But now that I have looked at it more, it is obvious that it is for people studying medicine, biology, or such like, an aid to comprehending the dizzying array of terms used in those fields. I don't have enough need for that, and plenty of other books clamoring for attention, but it might be interesting to revisit this sometime.
oh my god. I love this book. I love it so much it may or may not have teeth marks in it. I have every intention of carrying it in my purse for the rest of my life.
This is the most all-round useful dictionary I've found. It's small, easily used, and helpful when technical people throw words like 'idiopathic' or 'hyporheic' at you.
Excellent. I've used this reference book for biology classes, for English classes, for creative writing projects and to satisfy a curiosity for etymology.