There are many books that investigate the origins of English words and phrases; but these tend to focus on unusual idioms and sayings—who was the real McCoy? why was Larry so happy? how did a cat come to die of curiosity? This book differs in focusing on the words and phrases we use every day—often without any thought as to their origins—examining where they came from, charting how their uses have evolved over the centuries, and temporarily reviving others that have fallen out of use. In short, this book is a celebration of the richness of the English language, and the fascinating stories that lie behind its word hoard.
The study of word origins is known as etymology, which is from a Greek root meaning ‘true’, reflecting the way that the ancient Greeks believed that the earliest form of a word revealed its authentic meaning. There are still those who insist that the correct meaning of English words may be determined by reference to their origins, and who claim (for instance) that decimate can only mean ‘reduce by a tenth’, since it is from Latin decimus ‘tenth’. But if we were to follow such an approach, December should be the tenth month, as it was in the Roman calendar before January and February were added. And if we did insist on only sanctioning the use of decimate in its original sense—put to death one in every ten of an army of mutinous soldiers—how often would we use it?
Much more interesting than trying to restrict and dictate usage is the question of how and why the meanings of these words have come to change, and what they can tell us about the people who used them. That is the subject of this book.