Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Etymologicon


By Mark Forsyth
Berkley Books, 2011. 279 pgs. Nonfiction

Mark Forsyth takes his readers on a marvelous romp through the English language visiting clusters of words and laying bare how they connect together. Learn of the connections between punch and the pentagon, Australian aborigines and Peter Pan, slaves and the Italian parting ciao, SPAM (the meat product) and spam in your email, torpedoes and turtles, and dozens of additional word relatives.

This book is great fun and will be of interest to those interested in language, history, or trivia. Forsyth makes his stroll with ease and wit. The results are illuminating, informative, and occasionally ironic. 

SML

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