Skip to main content

Word Origins: The Romance of Language

by Cecil Hunt

113 Members 1 Review (3.00)

On This Page

Recommendations

Author Information

Classifications

Description

This A-to-Z etymology guide reveals the people and characters whose names have evolved into common English words. Have you ever wondered about the origins of words like "Bowdlerize"? In 1818 Thomas Bowdler published and abridged set of Shakespeare's plays which "omitted those passages which might offend family propriety"--thereby making his name literally synonymous with the practice of distorting someone's words. In Word Origins, Cecil Hunt provides fascinating profiles of hundreds of show more people whose names we use in everyday conversation. Discover historical personalities such as Sir Benjamin Hall, for whom Big Ben is named; the mythic figure of Tantalus, who was doomed by Zeus to forever be tantalized, and who continues to be tantalizing; as well as the Morse of Morse Code, Sax of Saxophones, and many others. show less

Tags

Recommendations

Dictionary of Word Origins by Joseph T. Shipley

Dictionary of Word Origins

Joseph T. Shipley

The Oxford English Dictionary by E. S. C. Weiner

The Oxford English Dictionary

E. S. C. Weiner

The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories by Merriam-Webster

The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories

Merriam-Webster

Dictionary of Word and Phrase Orgins by William Morris

Dictionary of Word and Phrase Orgins

Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words: Gathered from Numerous and Diverse Authoritative Sources by Josefa Heifetz Byrne

Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words: Gathered from Numerous and Diverse Authoritative Sources

Josefa Heifetz Byrne

Word Mysteries and Histories: From Quiche to Humble Pie by American Heritage

Word Mysteries and Histories: From Quiche to Humble Pie

American Heritage

Adventures of the Mind, from The Saturday Evening Post by John Kobler

Adventures of the Mind, from The Saturday Evening Post

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology (Oxford Paperback Reference) by T. F. Hoad

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology (Oxford Paperback Reference)

A dictionary of catch phrases, American and British, from the sixteenth century to the present day by Eric Partridge

A dictionary of catch phrases, American and British, from the sixteenth century to the present day

The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology by C. T. Onions

The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary

Simon Winchester

Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English by Eric Partridge

Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English

The American Language: An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States by H. L. Mencken

The American Language: An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States

They Have a Word for It: Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases by Howard Rheingold

They Have a Word for It: Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases

Howard Rheingold

Thereby Hangs a Tale by Charles Earle Funk

Thereby Hangs a Tale

Charles Earle Funk

An introduction to bibliography for literary students by Ronald B. McKerrow

An introduction to bibliography for literary students

Ronald B. McKerrow

A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English by Eric Partridge

A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English

The Meaning of Tingo: and Other Extraordinary Words from Around the World by Adam Jacot de Boinod

The Meaning of Tingo: and Other Extraordinary Words from Around the World

Adam Jacot de Boinod

Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages by Ammon Shea

Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages

Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage by William Morris

Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage

The Concise Dictionary of English Etymology by Walter W. Skeat

The Concise Dictionary of English Etymology

Walter W. Skeat

The roots of English: a reader's handbook of word origins by Robert Claiborne

The roots of English: a reader's handbook of word origins

Robert Claiborne

Our Marvelous Native Tongue by Robert Claiborne

Our Marvelous Native Tongue

Robert Claiborne

The Dictionary of Misinformation by Tom Burnam

The Dictionary of Misinformation

An Exaltation of Larks by James Lipton

An Exaltation of Larks

Growth and Structure of the English Language by Otto Jespersen

Growth and Structure of the English Language

A treasury of laughter,: Consisting of humorous stories, poems, essays, tall tales, jokes, boners, epigrams, memorable quips, and devastating crushers, by Louis Untermeyer

A treasury of laughter,: Consisting of humorous stories, poems, essays, tall tales, jokes, boners, epigrams, memorable quips, and devastating crushers,

Louis Untermeyer

The Word Museum: The Most Remarkable English Words Ever Forgotten by Jeffrey Kacirk

The Word Museum: The Most Remarkable English Words Ever Forgotten

Dictionary of American Slang by Harold Wentworth

Dictionary of American Slang

Harold Wentworth

Oxford Dictionary of Euphemisms by R. W. Holder

Oxford Dictionary of Euphemisms

Why Do We Say It?: The Stories Behind the Words, Expressions and Cliches We Use by Castle Books

Why Do We Say It?: The Stories Behind the Words, Expressions and Cliches We Use

The Origins and Development of the English Language by Thomas Pyles

The Origins and Development of the English Language

Le Mot Juste: A Dictionary of Classical and Foreign Words and Phrases by John Buchanan-Brown

Le Mot Juste: A Dictionary of Classical and Foreign Words and Phrases

John Buchanan-Brown

The Superior Person's Book of Words by Peter Bowler

The Superior Person's Book of Words

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable by E. Cobham Brewer

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable

E. Cobham Brewer

Bernstein's Reverse Dictionary by Theodore M. Bernstein

Bernstein's Reverse Dictionary

Theodore M. Bernstein

The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary by Lesley Brown

The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary

A dictionary of contemporary American usage by Bergen Evans

A dictionary of contemporary American usage

Amo, Amas, Amat and More by Eugene H. Ehrlich

Amo, Amas, Amat and More

Eugene H. Ehrlich

The Lives and Times of Archy and Mehitabel by Don Marquis

The Lives and Times of Archy and Mehitabel

The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson

The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins

Robert Hendrickson

Coming to Terms by William Safire

Coming to Terms

Miracle of Language by Richard Lederer

Miracle of Language

Richard Lederer

Forgotten English by Jeffrey Kacirk

Forgotten English

A Dictionary of Modern English Usage by H. W. Fowler

A Dictionary of Modern English Usage

The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories by Glynnis Chantrell

The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories

Glynnis Chantrell

Reader's Digest Illustrated Reverse Dictionary: Find the Words at the Tip of Your Tongue by Reader's Digest

Reader's Digest Illustrated Reverse Dictionary: Find the Words at the Tip of Your Tongue

Reader's Digest

Crazy English by Richard Lederer

Richard Lederer

The Game of Words by Willard R. Espy

The Game of Words

Willard R. Espy

The Oxford Companion to the English Language by Tom McArthur

The Oxford Companion to the English Language

Complete Recommendations

Member Reviews

Featured Recent Thumbs

All Ratings
1
1

1 review

auntieknickers 1,276 reviews

A useful and entertaining work.

Ratings

paghababian 91 reviews

Members

Recently Added By: accancio, MaryaPouliot, danswanchicago, Swsbslibrary, Lowe.joshua.m, airgid, CaitrinMG, EastWindLibrary, gas1951man

Author Information

26 Works 181 Members

Classifications

Genre: Reference
DDC/MDS: 803 — Literature & rhetoric Literature, rhetoric & criticism Dictionaries, encyclopedias, concordances
LCC: PN43 — Language and Literature Literature (General) Literature (General)
BISAC: LCO LITERARY COLLECTIONS General
REF REFERENCE General
LAN LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES Linguistics General

More Classifications

Statistics

Members: 113
Popularity: 288,034
Reviews: 1
Rating: (3.00)

Languages: English
Media: Paper, Ebook
ISBNs: 7
ASINs: 6

Quick Facts

Published: 1985
Genre: Reference
DDC/MDS: 803
LCC: PN43

Author

Picture of author.

26 Works 181 Members

Popular Covers

Find It

Links

No links

Popularity

100%
19%
85%
16%
81%
31%
31%
80%
37%
9%
50%
65%
14%
40%

2012
2026

Ratings

Stars: (3.00)

Click to expand

Click to reduce

Helpers

Verdana Standard Verdana Small The Lorax System Standard System Large Georgia Large Text Atkinson