The Wordspotter's Guide
Etymological Adventures Through the English Language
Will be published approx. on 5. November 2026
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-1-80522-620-8 (ISBN)
Description
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 Leotard, 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.
From the seemingly modern 'unfriend' - which dates back to the seventeenth century - to the revelation that the leotard was named after its inventor Jules Leotard, 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 / Votes
Immensely readable, full of learning and very entertaining. Olivia Swarthout shows how words are a source of stories and of knowledge across time and across human society. With energy, humour and learning she demonstrates that words have inner lives, often surprising, wayward and ambiguous. This is an enjoyable and readable book that will teach readers something about the language we use every day -- Anthony Bale, author of A TRAVEL GUIDE TO THE MIDDLE AGES Every word tells a story, and Swarthout has scooped up some of the best. From internal anatomy to outer space, her light-hearted joyride through English etymology will enrich your appreciation of the lore beneath our language -- Eli Burnstein, author of DICTIONARY OF FINE DISTINCTIONS Part field guide, part bestiary - a joyful hunt through the weird and wonderful world of the English language -- Rebecca Lee, author of ROGUES, WIDOWS AND ORPHANS Hugely enjoyable. Reading The Wordspotter's Guide was like following a plough as it unearths the fossils of the English language -- Shaun Bythell, author of THE DIARY OF A BOOKSELLER Praise for WEIRD MEDIEVAL GUYS * : * A gently fascinating insight into the marginalia of a lost era * Guardian * The best gift book there is ... I genuinely struggle to think of a person who might not love it * Independent - Best Books to Gift (and gift again) * Full of illuminating snippets that is sure to brighten up the darkest of times ... we love this book * Blackwells * Brilliantly funny ... Olivia celebrates the wonderful weirdness of the past in this gleeful book * Simple Things - Christmas Gift Guide 2023 * Weird Medieval Guys is a riot ... it is enticingly re-readable and will remain a favourite for the non-expert, while also being enjoyable to the specialist * Morning Star *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
ELT/ESL
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
Illustrations and charts, integrated
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 135 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-80522-620-8 (9781805226208)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Olivia Swarthout is a German-American author from Montana, USA who currently resides in London. 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. In so doing, she hopes to help her audience connect with the distant past and share in her sense of kinship with its inhabitants - who were, after all, not so different from us. Olivia is also the author of Weird Medieval Guys, a love letter to the creativity, hilarity, and timeless appeal of art from the Middle Ages.
Olivia is a name that arose as a variation of the Latin Oliva, meaning "olive", popularised in the English-speaking world by the heroine of William Shakespeare's play, Twelfth Night. 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 is a name that arose as a variation of the Latin Oliva, meaning "olive", popularised in the English-speaking world by the heroine of William Shakespeare's play, Twelfth Night. 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.