origins of words and phrases

clipped from www.wordorigins.org Wordorigins.org clipped from www.wordorigins.org Welcome to Wordorigins.org Dave Wilton, Friday, June 01, 2007 Wordorigins.org is devoted to the origins of words and phrases, or as a linguist would put it, to etymology. Etymology is the study of word origins. (It is not the study of insects; that is entomology.) Where words come from is a fascinating subject, full of folklore and historical lessons. Often, popular tales of a word’s origin arise. Sometimes these are true; more often they are not. While it can be disappointing when a neat little tale turns out to be untrue, almost invariably the true origin is just as interesting. Filed under: About Wordorigins.org  (5) Comments Permalink