Jess Zafarris
Chamber
7 October 2025
336
eBook - PDF
Non-Fiction
ARC via NetGalley
Did you know that an "astronaut" is literally a "star sailor," that a thesaurus is, in fact, a "treasure
trove" of words, and that someone who is "sinister" is actually just "left-handed"?
Have you ever wondered why English isn't considered a Romance language if 60% of our
words are Latin-derived?
Did Shakespeare really invent 1,700 words, and if not, why the heck do we say that he did?
Why is the English language stuffed with so many synonyms?
Let's be real: English can seem pretty bonkers. And, well, sometimes it is. But through thorough thought and a pinch of curiosity, method can be found within the madness of our modern tongue-even within the disparate pronunciation of the words "through," "thorough," and "thought."
Derived from Germanic, Romance, Hellenic, Semitic, African and Native American languages, English contains multitudes. It has been (and continues to be) transformed by war and conquest, art and literature, science and technology, love and hate, wit and whim.
Useless Etymology takes readers on a time-traveling adventure to unlock the beauty, wonder, and absurdity within our everyday words, how they came to be, and the unexpected ways their origins weave a global, cross-cultural labyrinth of meaning.
Filled with fun facts and delightful discoveries, this is an enlightening read for anyone who wants to know more about why the English language works the way that it does.
Useless Etymology was a delightful read that combined interesting facts with a good dose of humour. The latter helped to avoid the text feeling too dry and scholarly, making it accessible to everyone, even if they have no background knowledge in linguistics. This is a book you can read cover to cover or just dip into at random. I was reading it at the same time I started an online course in comparative Indo-European linguistics, so it all fitted in well to my mindset at the time. I recommend this book both to students of linguistics and casual readers who are just interested in learning more about English and the way language works. I am giving it 5 stars.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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