Dictionary of Word Origins: Histories of More Than 8,000 English-Language Words

by John Ayto

Containing more than eight thousand entries, this guide to the history of the English language traces word origins from their Indo-European roots and reveals the links between seemingly unrelated words such as "bacteria" and "imbecile"

Genres: Reference, Language, Nonfiction, History, Linguistics, Writing, Dictionaries

592 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Warwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better etymological dictionaries of English, not because it's especially comprehensive but on the contrary because it takes a smallish selection (around 8,000 words only) and treats each entry in detail. Unlike traditional dictionaries of this kind, which work backwards in time, Ayto begins at the beginning and works forwards, which has the effect of revealing the etymology to be a kind of narrative. Look up ginger, for instance, in a classic like Skeat 1884 and you'll get this:

Ginger, the root of a certain plant. (F.—L.—Gk.—Skt.) M. E. ginger, gingeuere (=gingevere).—O. F. gengibre (F. gingembre).—L. zingiber.—Gk. ζιγγίβερις.—Skt. çriñgavera, ginger; lit. ‘horn-shaped,’ from the horns on it.—Skt. çriñga, a horn; vera, a body.

This is a model that has been followed by most similar works. The story can be unpicked here (with reference to the table of abbreviations), but Ayto explains things naturally and with context.

ginger   [OE]   Few foodstuffs can have been as exhaustively etymologized as ginger – Professor Alan Ross, for instance, begetter of the U/non-U distinction, wrote an entire 74-page monograph on the history of the word in 1952. And deservedly so, for its ancestry is extraordinarily complex. Its ultimate source was Sanskrit śrñgavēram, a compound formed from śrñgam ‘horn’ and vēra- ‘body’; the term was applied to ‘ginger’ because of the shape of its edible root. This passed via Prakrit singabēra and Greek ziggíberis into Latin as zinziberi. In post-classical times the Latin form developed to gingiber or gingiver, which Old English borrowed as gingifer. English reborrowed the word in the 13th century from Old French gingivre, which combined with the descendant of the Old English form to produce Middle English gingivere – whence modern English ginger.

This approach means that, while this can be hit-and-miss as a pure reference work, its value in terms of browsing pleasure is very high: it is written to be read, not deciphered. Instead of allowing the headline, as it were, to emerge from the history, Ayto gives it to you straight at the start: so, ‘Sycophants are etymologically “fig-showers”’, he tells us; or ‘Whisky denotes etymologically “water of life”’; or, ‘Etymologically, a pencil is a “little penis”.’

One of my favourite etymologies, which I'm sure I learnt from this book, is that of porcelain, which, as Ayto compellingly begins, ‘leads us back to a pig's vagina’:

It was originally applied to fine china in Italian, as porcellana. This meant literally ‘cowrie shell,’ and was used for the china in allusion to its shell-like sheen. Porcellana was a derivative of porcella ‘little sow,’ a diminutive form of porca ‘sow’ (to which English pork is related), and was applied to cowrie shells because they supposedly resembled the external genitalia of female pigs.

Once read, impossible to forget…

Admittedly I am slightly obsessed with etymologies; there are few conversations I don't walk away from thinking, ‘That's a funny word; I wonder where that comes from?’, and the first thing I buy when I'm learning a new language is a good etymological dictionary, since normal translating dictionaries can easily be substituted with online tools nowadays. Still, by focusing on eye-catching stories and clear readability, I reckon a book like this has wide appeal even if you don't normally care much about the subject. It's endlessly fascinating, and a good example of when less, in reference works, can sometimes be more.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can flip through this for hours and be entertained and enlightened. Great book to have if interested in etymology, language, history, or word play & writing. Good times

[Beorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly enjoyable read that, well, does exactly what it says on the label.
What I like most about this book is that it is written in an easily accessible, almost friendly manner with a good history of each word's origins whilst including all the necessary constituents and bits necessary to further research the paths and conduits of modern language that the word took.

Admittedly this probably has a fairly limited market to those with an interest in etymology but it's easily the best book I've found on etymology and is easy to dip in and out of whenever your curiousity gets tweaked and you want to look a certain word up.

I have no idea if this is even in print any more as I picked it up at a charity shop, but if you have an interest in historical languages or etymology and see this somewhere, I heartily recommend picking it up!

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Endlessly fascinating for anyone interested in language.

[Amanda Wellman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously, this is an ongoing read, but what I have used so far has been very informative.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good starting point when wanting to learn the etymology of words.

[Mad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long, dense, but often fascinating.

[Cami · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun reference for those who enjoy the history of words

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite books ever. EVER. I made my dad buy it for me for Christmas my eleventh grade year.

[Thom Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully readable--i.e. legible--etymologies. It could be better: it could be bigger.

[Bmankiewicz]

Paperback in good shape. Pages are yellowed. 582 pages. No markings.

[Steve Clark]

Edition: New edition