+++
title = "The Origin of Names, Words and Everything in Between - Patrick Foote"
date = 2018-11-30

category = "reviews"

[taxonomies]
tags = ["books", "en-au", "etymology", "patrick foote"]
+++

[GoodReads summary](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41224588-the-origin-of-names-words-and-everything-in-between):
Explore the world of names: What is something that literally everything in
existence has in common? It all has a name! With The Origin of Names, Words and
Everything in Between, you can learn the origins of these names. From countries
and cities to toys and animals to even planets, learn the etymology of
interesting words in a fun and entertaining way.

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{{ stars(stars=3) }}

Etymology is a fun -- or, at least, interesting -- area: The origin of words.

And yes, that's what this book is about: words and their meanings. Five (or
six) sections, each with 10 words and their origins. Kinda.

There is one glaring problem with the book: Because etymology is somewhat
boring ("hey, this word, came from this source, which is based on this word,
which means this"), the author decided to put some fun in it, which is ok in a
certain dose, but gets annoying when it is too much. And it *is* too much.

Also, there are some problems with the editing of the book. Wrong punctuation,
words disconnected from the rest of the phrase... There is even an "there"
which should be "their".

It is not a bad book per se, it's just the the colorful notes put too much
color in it and it surely needs a very good revision.
