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Word Origins And How We Know Them: Etymology for Everyone

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'Etymos/on' means 'true, real' in Greek, and etymologists endeavor to find the true origin of words.
Right away we are on treacherous ground: one man's truth is another man's folly. Etymology deals with discovery, not with consensus, says Liberman. If you take the etymological explanations offered in standard dictionaries at face value (and look no further when it says "origin unknown"), you don't need this book.
But let's say you come across a word like 'litter' which can have so many different meanings (scattered rubbish; stretcher; a number of young brought forth by a pig, cat, etc.; straw, hay or the like used as bedding for animals or protection for plants) you can't help wondering how this came about. (Hint: it all goes back to Latin 'lectus'=bed).
Some word origins are quite transparent: it is easy to recognize 'day's eye' in 'daisy'. Onomatopoeic words like clap. flap, swish, buzz, etc. require no difficult analysis. But how is the nail on your finger or toe related to the metal object you hit with a hammer?

Thus we find ourselves in the thicket of etymological research before we quite know how we got there.
How the discipline developed, how it waxed and waned through the centuries and in different countries is a fascinating tale in itself.
"Etymology finds its justification in the belief that words are not arbitrary but meaningful combinations of sounds", says the author. After leading us through various decoding efforts - some gratifyingly successful, others disconcertingly inconclusive - he sheds some light on the methods of etymology, and then gives an overview of the Indo-European sound shifts, Grimm's Law, and the nitty-gritty of historical linguistics. But just when we think we are on solid ground again, we are confronted with multiple violations and exceptions to these rules, and certainty once again yields to doubt.

A treasure trove of references in different languages is incorporated in the notes; they reflect the fierce battles that have been going on between scholars and rival factions and are definitely worth reading alongside the text. (Some typos are distracting - Greek nu confused with upsilon, misplaced hyphens - but they don't spoil the fun).
Liberman has tried to "combine entertainment with instruction", and I think he has succeeded admirably with this book. It does not reek of pedantry, yet manages to sneak in a lot of serious knowledge while maintaining a light, conversational tone. When, at the end, the author invites his readers "to leaf through this book again", you know that you will enjoy it even more the second time around.

This book makes one realize that there are two kinds of etymologies: the one that tries to explain terms like "hackney" and "jack-o-lantern"; and the one that tries to explain terms like "hand" and "bring". The first makes you search through medieval tomes and books about ancient crafts; the second causes one to delve into ablaut series and next to unpronounceable Proto-Indo-European (PIE) words that look more like formulas (which they partly are). The first yields a number of anecdotal and often amusing stories, the second dry-as-dust formal word derivations. The author, although acknowledging the existence of the second, is clearly much more interested in the first; PIE figures only sporadically in the text and does not even occur in the index.

This approach makes the book a juicy read, especially on "funny" English words; the sections on ablaut series etc. lack the same flourish and are mercifully small. Yet even in the juicy part there are quite a number of promising
paragraphs that lead nowhere. For example, on page 101 we learn that "Cockney" has an interesting origin, but that origin is never revealed.

Much too much to my taste is attributed to sound symbolism (page 212: the b in "to beat" is suggested to be "imitative (echoic)" of the beating action; the argument is that out of 115 synonyms of "beat, strike" about 20 begin with a b) or explained as "baby words" (pig - big - bag for "swollen things"). I think such claims are warranted only when supported by similar phenomena from several non-Indo-European languages. I personally cannot find back any of these sound symbolisms in Hebrew, the only Non-IE language I know well. Latin "capere" (to take), Finnish "kappan" (to seize) and Hebr. "kaf" (hollow hand) may very well be related (and I think they probably are) but I don't hear any sound symbolism in them (page 43). For that matter, Hebr. "khataf" (he grabbed) sounds much more like seizing.

The editing is far from perfect; one problem is that the Old-English/Icelandic letter "thorn" (a p with an upward stick like a b) is often printed as a p (f.e. page 83). In summary, the subtitle "Etymology for Everybody" is fully justified, but it is a limited form of etymology.

As someone who reads etymological dictionaries (English, French and Italian) for fun I was expecting something more upbeat. This is an incredibly interesting topic - tracing a word's history is like tracing the culture of a nation. I am an academic myself, so I wasn't expecting or wanting this book to be dumbed down, but I found it extremely dry - so dry in fact that I quickly began flitting through the book in the hope of finding some interesting insights. If you've never read anything before on etymology or etymologists, then you might find it worthwhile buying the book. If not ...

The author of this book is highly knowledgeable about the origins of words and attuned to the many misconceptions non-etymologists may have about the subject. However, the authors love of word origins seems to impede his ability to discuss them in a clear and concise fashion. So many words are presented in every chapter - even the titles of the chapters consist of too many words - that the reader looses track of the topic in that particular chapter. Thorough, but could be organized (and edited) a bit better.

The book is a good library copy with protective covering and arrived in a timely fashion. It's a fascinating book, not quite as readable as other etymology books I have read, but offers good insights into how an etymologist does his or her work. It's a good book to read just before you go to sleep because it's interesting enough to hold your attention, but dry enough to put you to sleep.

very interesting to really know the origins of the many words and phrases we use in every day language...I sure have more respect for the phrases being used.