In a Word

by Margaret S. Ernst, James Thurber

language

Genres: Language, Reference, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published April 1, 1989

Reviews

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whiskey just means water, shortened from uisge beatha, Celtic Irish for "water of life." Testify is from testes because we used to swear on our nuts; that is, place a hand over the crotch, instead of the heart, when we made a solemn vow. Vanilla is related to vagina, latin for sheath or scabbard. The first umbrellas were parasols, that is made to provide shade (umbra) not protect from rain. Old English had a letter called thorn for the diphthong, th, which when written often looked like a 'Y.' Thus Ye Olde This and Ye Olde That. ... The lessons from this book go on and on. Perfect reading for the toilet, from toilette, originally a small washcloth on a dressing table.

[blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little etymology book full of mid-century style witticisms and Thurber's last drawings (apparently).

[Joe Skilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

disaster
Latin dis-, against, away from; and astra, stars.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read by this author was entitled, Words, English roots and how they grew, published by Knopf in 1960. It was a simple explanation of the history of the English language. Easy to read and understand.