Webster's New Explorer Dictionary of Word Origins

An Armchair Adventure for Word Lovers. Written in a witty, conversational style, Webster's New Explorer Dictionary of Word Origins describes how some common and not-so-common words entered the English language and how their meanings evolved. Some, like "icicle" and wiseacre", came to us from other languages and have been transformed to create new words. Others, like "workaholic," were coined only recently. The histories of these words are among many fascinating stories of how language is sh...