In a Word: 750 Words and Their Fascinating Stories and Origins [Hardcover]

Rosalie Baker (Author), Tom Lopes (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Each word or phrase used today had a beginning - a reason for being coined. Words travel through time and evolve, taking on new characteristics, new meanings, and fascinating tales of people, places, and events. Applaud, for example, goes back to ancient Rome, when an actor would turn to the audience and demand "Plaudite!" ("Clap!") This fun book contains 750 word origins written in a witty short-story style. Many of the words are accompanied by "P.S.'s," that provide details about a word's history and usage. Witty illustrations by Tom Lopes showcase many of the words' visual connections. The book comes with a language chart, an index, and an introduction by a linguistics scholar.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9-Spanning a broad range of topics, this collection of word origins informs and entertains readers. Organized into 16 chapters with catchy titles such as "Military Madness," "Glorious Gizmos & Great Grub," and "Tantalizing Tidbits," the concise entries are both relevant and thoughtful. "Exceptional Expressions" is a particularly fun chapter for browsing, as it offers historical context and origins of commonly used phrases such as "baker's dozen," "chew the fat," and "go berserk." Amusing black-and-white drawings and bits of pertinent trivia appear throughout. Younger students who are still developing their vocabulary and cultural knowledge may find some of the explanations a bit esoteric, but generally comprehensible. One minor drawback is that pronunciations are located in the index instead of with the actual entry, which can be a bit cumbersome. More accessible, but less comprehensive than The Facts On File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins (Facts On File, 1997), this is a solid choice for librarians wanting to update their English language collections.-Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-8. Drawn from Cobblestone magazine's monthly column, "Calliope," the entries in this book discuss the meanings and derivations of 750 words and phrases. The arrangement is topical, with broad subject categories such as archaeology, clothing, or the military. One chapter features expressions such as "beyond the pale" and "slush fund," and another explains foreign words and phrases such as chutzpah and laissez faire. A typical page includes several entries explained in single-paragraph discussions. While exploring word origins, Baker also touches on interesting facets of European history and Greek mythology. The jaunty illustrations are reproduced in black and shades of gray. A chart on the last double-page spread illustrates the branches of Indo-European languages. Best read in small sections or used for reference, this informative book fosters an appreciation for the richness of the English language. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Cricket Books (December 26, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812627105
• ISBN-13: 978-0812627107
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #443,956 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cute book, but..., July 11, 2009

By 

Thomas E. Davis (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In a Word: 750 Words and Their Fascinating Stories and Origins (Hardcover)

This book is a pleasure to pick up and browse: informative, well-written, and filled with clever drawings. It's useful for students and teachers alike, but -- and I don't mean to nitpick -- it's by no means definitive. Readers should be aware of alternative attributions before they announce these etymologies to their friends or pupils.

For instance, the author, Rosalie Baker, claims that the name for Africa originated from the Latin word "aprica," meaning "sunny," as if this were a settled matter. But it's only one of many possible origins; numerous alternative theories point to North African tribes and languages for the word's derivation.

The same thing happens to "ketchup," which Baker claims is Malaysian in origin. But it may well have come from Chinese, Arabic, or other languages.

The author traces the etymology of "arctic" to the Greek words for the constellation Ursa Major. However, because Polaris, the North Star, is in Ursa Minor, this constellation may also be the source of the word.

This caveat aside, there are a lot of fun and interesting tidbits of geographic, cultural, and historical knowledge to be gleaned from the book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars In A Word: 750 Words and Their Fascinating Stories and Origins, January 17, 2011

By 

Sharon - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: In a Word: 750 Words and Their Fascinating Stories and Origins (Hardcover)

I ordered this book for my 6 year old grand son who has expressed great interest in word origin. I found that it was much too advanced for his age. There was no age range given but I assumed from the whimsical cover that it was for fairly young children. I suggest that you include an age range with your childrens' books.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars not very interesting, November 19, 2010

By 

serendipity - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: In a Word: 750 Words and Their Fascinating Stories and Origins (Hardcover)

Neither my husband nor I found the words/stories included in this book to be very interesting. Try Phil Cousineau's Wordcatcher for a much more entertaining and enlightening read.