Word Origins


Useless Etymology: Offbeat Word Origins for Curious Minds
Chambers Dictionary of Etymology
Babel: Around the World in Twenty Languages
The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins
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This Is Not a Weasel :...
 
by
Philip B. Mortenson
The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way
Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States
The Painted Word: A Treasure Chest of Remarkable Words and Their Origins
The Word Detective: Solving the Mysteries Behind Those Pesky Words and Phrases
Alphabetter Juice or, The Joy of Text
Anonyponymous: The Forgotten People Behind Everyday Words
Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts, Tinctures, Tonics, and Essences; With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory
Sticklers, Sideburns and Bikinis: The Military Origin of Everyday Words and Phrases
_Vacuum tubes_ are known as _valves_ in England. This is based on the fact that they can be used to control the flow of electricity, similar in concept to the way in which their mechanical namesakes are used to control the flow of fluids.
Clive Max Maxfield, Bebop to the Boolean Boogie: An Unconventional Guide to Electronics

The bad angels were the jinn, and the good angels were the jinn too, and we spoke to them both in the desert. In Arabic, jinn has the same root as the word for paradise, jenna. The word for jinn and the word for paradise both have the same root as the word for madness, junun. To be close to the jinn is to be close to madness, is to be even closer to paradise.
Hannah Lillith Assadi, Sonora

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