Word Nerd: More Than 17,000 Fascinating Facts about Words

by Barbara Ann Kipfer

Are You a Word Nerd? Did you know... For word lovers everywhere, Word Nerd is a rich―and fun―compendium of more than 17,000 fascinating facts about words. Bestselling author Barbara Anne Kipfer has spent years compiling little known tidbits about common―and not so common―words in the English language. Filled with interesting information about words, sure to amaze and spark conversation, this incredible collection is perfect for the word nerd in each of us.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Language, Words, Writing

570 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2007

About the author

Dr. Barbara Ann Kipfer (born in 1954) is a lexicographer,as well as an archaeologist. She has written more than 60 books, including 14,000 Things to be Happy About (Workman), which has more than a million copies in print and has given rise to many Page-a-Day calendars. The 25th anniversary edition of the book was published in October 2014. She is the editor of Roget's International Thesaurus.

Kipfer is Chief Lexicographer of the company Temnos. She has worked for such companies as Google, Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com, Answers.com, Ask Jeeves, Bellcore/Telcordia, Federated Media Publishing, General Electric Research, IBM Research, idealab, Knowledge Adventure, Textdigger, The Chicago Tribune, and WolframAlpha. Barbara holds a PhD and MPhil in Linguistics (University of Exeter), a PhD in Archaeology (Greenwich University), an MA and a PhD in Buddhist Studies (Akamai University), and a BS in Physical Education (Valparaiso University).

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Lyndy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is interesting-- and it wasn't that I really didn't like it enough to finish it, just that I don't have time to read a dictionary!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very very interesting book on the nature of words and their original meanings.

[Tamara Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book for people who love words and learning interesting facts about how words are used.

[Kiersten]

This is a hilarious, useful, random book. I'd highly recommend it - and if you are already a lover of words, this is an absolute must-read!

[Graham Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lexicologist Barbara Ann Kipfer has compiled 17,000 fascinating facts about common--and not so common--words in the English language in this book, such as the number five on dice is called a cinque.

Not a book to be read from start to finish, but instead a book to be dipped into. A must read for anyone who has even the slightest interest in words and the English language.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Word Nerd" is awesome. This book contains much beloved wisdom of word origins.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and entertaining.

[Kathrynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is interesting because the book that I own looks EXACTLY like this one, same ISBN, same publication date, same number of pages, except one minor detail. My book title is:

"Word Nerd More than 17,000 Fascinating Facts About Words"

I guess I got fewer facts! ;-)

I searched the Internet and all the titles that I could find say 18,000 facts. Go figure?

Somebody doesn't have their "facts" together... (Sorry. I couldn't resist that one.)

As for the book contents: I like it. This is the same person that wrote or compiled the Flip Dictionary, which I think is very cool.

Under "H, Haagen-Dazs is made up; it does not mean anything in any known language."

or

"Habit derives from the Latin stem habere, "have, hold"; we all know that a habit, good or bad, has a hold on you"

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I think we all know my particular weakness by now. Rosie is more likely to bear the Donald's lovechild than I to leave the store without this addition to my collection.

[Mazie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book. I'm a nerd like that.

[Anna]

I check this out from the library and realized it read more like a dictionary. I still would like to go through this book, but I need to buy it so I can do it at a leisurely pace.