En raison d'une grève chez bpost, des retards de livraison peuvent survenir. Besoin de quelque chose en urgence ? Optez pour un retrait en magasin ou rendez-vous dans une Librairie Club à proximité.

Retrait en 2 heures
Assortiment impressionnant
Paiement sécurisé
Toujours un magasin près de chez vous

Retrait en 2 heures
Assortiment impressionnant
Paiement sécurisé
Toujours un magasin près de chez vous

Magasins

Wishlist

Magasins

Wishlist

Chercher

Promotions

Lire un extrait

10,99 €

+ 10 points

Format

Disponible immédiatement

Passer une commande en un clic

Payer en toute sécurité

Description

"A burst of delight on every page!"
Mignon Fogarty, host of the Grammar Girl podcast

Did you know that an "astronaut" is literally a "star sailor," that a thesaurus is, in fact, a "treasure
trove" of words, and that someone who is "sinister" is actually just "left-handed"?

Have you ever wondered why English isn't considered a Romance language if 60% of our
words are Latin-derived?

Did Shakespeare really invent 1,700 words, and if not, why the heck do we say that he did?

Why is the English language stuffed with so many synonyms?

Let's be real: English can seem pretty bonkers. And, well, sometimes it is. But through thorough thought and a pinch of curiosity, method can be found within the madness of our modern tongue-even within the disparate pronunciation of the words "through," "thorough," and "thought."

Derived from Germanic, Romance, Hellenic, Semitic, African and Native American languages, English contains multitudes. It has been (and continues to be) transformed by war and conquest, art and literature, science and technology, love and hate, wit and whim.

Useless Etymology takes readers on a time-traveling adventure to unlock the beauty, wonder, and absurdity within our everyday words, how they came to be, and the unexpected ways their origins weave a global, cross-cultural labyrinth of meaning.

Filled with fun facts and delightful discoveries, this is an enlightening read for anyone who wants to know more about why the English language works the way that it does.