The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language

by Mark Forsyth

This humorous yet rigorous compendium of English words and their (perhaps unexpectedly) exciting etymologies was a surprise bestseller on first publication in 2011. The Independent summarised it as “witty and erudite, and stuffed with the kind of arcane information that nobody strictly needs to know, but which is a pleasure to learn nonetheless.”