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The Illustrated Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language Spiral-Bound | April 11, 2023

Mark Forsyth

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“The Illustrated Etymologicon is a dizzying, delightful trip through the evolution and accidents of language…Pen-and-ink drawings, their style steampunk and charming, illuminate this glorious exploration, which runs the gamut from gambling to astrology to bucks, rounding it all out with a fun quiz to further tickle linguistic interests.” Review, Foreword(March/April issue)

*** A NEW, BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED HARDBACK EDITION OF THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER, PUBLISHED ON ITS TENTH ANNIVERSARY ***

'Witty and erudite ... stuffed with the kind of arcane information that nobody strictly needs to know, but which is a pleasure to learn nonetheless.' Nick Duerden, Independent.

'Particularly good ... Forsyth takes words and draws us into their, and our, murky history.' William Leith, Evening Standard.

The Etymologicon is an occasionally ribald, frequently witty and unerringly erudite guided tour of the secret labyrinth that lurks beneath the English language.

What is the actual connection between disgruntled and gruntled? What links church organs to organised crime, California to the Caliphate, or brackets to codpieces?

Mark Forsyth's riotous celebration of the idiosyncratic and sometimes absurd connections between words is a classic of its kind: a mine of fascinating information and a must-read for word-lovers everywhere.

'Highly recommended' Spectator

Publisher: Ingram Publisher Services
Original Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 320 pages
ISBN-10: 1785787853
Item Weight: 1.23 lbs
Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.96 x 7.9 inches

Praise for The Etymologicon 


'Particularly good … Forsyth takes words and draws us into their, and our, murky history.' William Leith, Evening Standard.

'Highly recommended' Spectator

[Forsyth] riff[s] very entertainingly on the hidden connections of words (from brackets and codpieces, to cappuccinos and monkeys).

Robert McCrum, The Guardian

I'm hooked on Forsyth's book – Crikey, but this is addictive.

Mathew Parris, The Times

Kudos should go to Mark Forsyth, author of The Etymologicon – Clearly a man who knows his onions, Mr Forsyth must have worked 19 to the dozen, spotting red herrings and unravelling inkhorn terms, to bestow this boon – a work of the first water, to coin a phrase.

The Daily Telegraph

This year's must-have stocking filler – the angel on the top of the tree, the satsuma in the sock, the threepenny bit in the plum pudding, the essential addition to the library in the smallest room is Mark Forsyth's The Etymologicon.

Ian Sansom, The Guardian

The stocking filler of the season.

Robert McCrum, The Observer

Witty and erudite … stuffed with the kind of arcane information that nobody strictly needs to know, but which is a pleasure to learn nonetheless.

Nick Duerden, Independent

From Nazis and film buffs to heckling and humble pie, the obscure origins of commonly-used words and phrases are explained.

Daily Telegraph

A perfect bit of stocking filler for the bookish member of the family, or just a cracking all-year-round read. Highly recommended.

Spectator

Light, entertaining and fascinating … This is really one of those books where you have to fight hard to resist telling anyone in earshot little snippets every five minutes.

Brian Clegg

An absolute gem … a pleasure to read.

Books Monthly

I want this book to be never-ending … a real winner.

Books Monthly

It makes for a very good read … a perfect Christmas gift for anyone who might be interested in where our words come from.

A Common Reader

The subtitle … 'A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language' … is a misdescription. It is not a stroll; it is a plunge on a toboggan where the only way to stop is to fall off.

Financial Times


Mark ForsythThe Etymologicon was a Sunday Times Number One Bestseller and his TED Talk 'What's a snollygoster?' has had more than half a million views. He is also the author of The Horologicon and The Elements of Eloquence, and wrote a specially commissioned essay The Unknown Unknown for British Independent Booksellers Week. He lives in London with his dictionaries, and blogs at blog.inkyfool.com.