"Millions of people want to know the origin of the words they use. Word columns in daily newspapers and numerous books attempt to satisfy their curiosity. Word histories are usually digested like pills: the user is interested in getting well, not in the chemistry of the prescribed medication.

Those who send letters to the Editor also want a straight answer without bothering about how "editors" come by their knowledge. Therefore, they fail to realize that etymologies are seldom definitive and that the science of etymology is intensely interesting. Perhaps if someone explained to them

that, compared to the drama of words, Hamlet is a light farce, they might develop a more informed attitude toward philological research and become students of historical linguistics rather than gullible consumers of journalists' pap."--Anatoly Liberman

Word Origins is the only guide to the science and process of etymology for the layperson. This funny, charming, and conversational book not only tells the known origins of hundreds of words, but also shows how their origins were determined. Liberman, an internationally acclaimed etymologist, takes

the reader by the hand and explains the many ways that English words can be made, and the many ways in which etymologists try to unearth the origins of words.

Part history, part how-to, and completely entertaining, Word Origins invites readers behind the scenes to watch an etymologist at work.

As a sideline to his long ongoing work on a new etymological dictionary of English, Liberman (German, Scandinavian, and Dutch, U. of Minnesota) enlightens general readers--who may confuse 'etymology' and 'entomology'--about the challenges faced by etymologists in tracing word origins and evolved meanings. His explanations cover philosophical musings, historical debates in the field, and words imitating sounds.
Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Telling the origins of hundreds of words, this funny, charming, and conversational book takes the reader by the hand and explains the many ways that English words can be made, and the many ways in which etymologists try to unearth the origins of words.

Anatoly Liberman is Professor of the Humanities at the University of Minnesota. For the past seventeen years, he has been working on a new etymological dictionary of English. He lives in Minneapolis.