The Etymologicon

A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language

Why is a mortgage literally a “death pledge”? Why do guns bear girls’ names? How is “salt” connected to “soldier”? The Etymologicon unravels these mysteries—and countless more—offering a dazzling journey through the hidden histories of the English language.

A completely unauthorized guide to etymology, this book reveals the surprising origins of everyday words and phrases: from “gruntled” to “disgruntled,” from meager pay barely covering your “money for salt,” to how the world’s largest coffee chain traces back to Nantucket whalers—and even what the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening.

Witty, illuminating, and endlessly fascinating, The Etymologicon awakens the linguist in all of us, tracing the winding, unexpected paths that words have traveled through history to arrive in the language we use today.