The Wordspotter's Guide (Hardback)
Etymological Adventures Through the English Language
Preorder from
An illuminating excavation of our linguistic origins from ancient times to the present day - the perfect Christmas gift for your favourite word nerd
Olivia Swarthout, creator of the viral sensation Weird Medieval Guys, turns her idiosyncratic and humorous eye to the fascinating roots of the English language. Here, she introduces readers to wordspotting, a hobby for those who love words and their peculiarities, origins and histories.
From the seemingly modern 'unfriend' - which dates back to the seventeenth century - to the revelation that the leotard was named after its inventor Jules Léotard, The Wordspotter's Guide brims with fascinating linguistic tidbits alongside advice and techniques for detecting the bizarre and unlikely commonalities between words and their meanings.
An invitation to pay better attention to words and their stories, this etymological romp will bring out the wordspotter in everyone.
The Wordspotter's Guide (Ebook)
Etymological Adventures Through the English Language
Preorder from
An illuminating excavation of our linguistic origins from ancient times to the present day - the perfect Christmas gift for your favourite word nerd
Olivia Swarthout, creator of the viral sensation Weird Medieval Guys, turns her idiosyncratic and humorous eye to the fascinating roots of the English language. Here, she introduces readers to wordspotting, a hobby for those who love words and their peculiarities, origins and histories.
From the seemingly modern 'unfriend' - which dates back to the seventeenth century - to the revelation that the leotard was named after its inventor Jules Léotard, The Wordspotter's Guide brims with fascinating linguistic tidbits alongside advice and techniques for detecting the bizarre and unlikely commonalities between words and their meanings.
An invitation to pay better attention to words and their stories, this etymological romp will bring out the wordspotter in everyone.
The Wordspotter's Guide (Audiobook)
Etymological Adventures Through the English Language
Preorder from
An illuminating excavation of our linguistic origins from ancient times to the present day - the perfect Christmas gift for your favourite word nerd
Olivia Swarthout, creator of the viral sensation Weird Medieval Guys, turns her idiosyncratic and humorous eye to the fascinating roots of the English language. Here, she introduces readers to wordspotting, a hobby for those who love words and their peculiarities, origins and histories.
From the seemingly modern 'unfriend' – which dates back to the seventeenth century – to the revelation that the leotard was named after its inventor Jules Léotard, The Wordspotter's Guide brims with fascinating linguistic tidbits alongside advice and techniques for detecting the bizarre and unlikely commonalities between words and their meanings.
An invitation to pay better attention to words and their stories, this etymological romp will bring out the wordspotter in everyone.
Reviews for The Wordspotter's Guide
Anthony Bale, author of A TRAVEL GUIDE TO THE MIDDLE AGES
Eli Burnstein, author of DICTIONARY OF FINE DISTINCTIONS
Rebecca Lee, author of ROGUES, WIDOWS AND ORPHANS
Shaun Bythell, author of THE DIARY OF A BOOKSELLER
:
Guardian
Independent - Best Books to Gift (and gift again)
Blackwells
Simple Things - Christmas Gift Guide 2023
Morning Star
Olivia Swarthout
Olivia Swarthout is the creator and curator of the internet sensation Weird Medieval Guys. A lifelong aficionado for all things strange and obscure, Olivia's work centres around unearthing the most unexpected and entertaining stories from the annals of human history. Her first book, Weird Medieval Guys, was a love letter to the creativity, hilarity, and timeless appeal of art from the Middle Ages. Swarthout is a surname of Middle Dutch origin that roughly translates to 'Black Forest'. It probably originated near a Frisian forest of the same name, but neither the woods nor their inhabitants are around to say for sure. Olivia grew up between Montana and Berlin before settling in London.