Once Upon a Word: A Word-Origin Dictionary for Kids - Jess Zafarris 2020

What IS Etymology?
Where do words come from?

Once upon a time, a word was born.

Our story begins more than 1.7 million years ago with the early members of our species, Homo sapiens. They had only recently started making stone tools when they first began giving names to the things they saw, heard, and did.

From here, humans learned to speak, share stories, and pass those stories down. We then came up with symbols to record events, to keep track of all we were learning and doing. The invention of language opened up a new universe of creative expression and imagination. It allowed us to create books, music, and art, to discuss philosophy and make new scientific discoveries.

Although there are some animals, like dolphins and elephants, that appear to have a form of “language,” human language remains the most advanced in the known universe.

Learning about the way our ancestors’ language grew and changed from simple communication to a world full of different ideas can help us better understand ourselves and each other.

In this book, we’ll trace words back to their earliest forms, find out where they came from, and explore what turned them into the terms and phrases we use today. Through etymology, you’ll discover the stories behind our language, but first we’ll answer two important questions.

What IS Etymology?

And what does it have to do with learning new words?

Etymology is the study of the way words have changed over time. It looks at where words came from and when they were invented. By understanding word origins, we learn more about how and why the words were first made up. Origins can also tell us more about the places where those words were spoken. Through etymology, we can build our vocabulary and even guess what a word means based on its root. Most importantly, we will learn more about people and cultures from around the world.

Etymologists, or people who study word origins, trace words through history to learn how they came to be. You can think of them as word detectives. They learn about these word histories by reading historical records and documents and comparing the way words have changed over time. Sometimes it can be difficult to figure out exactly what a word’s origin or original meaning was, so etymologists make guesses based on the best evidence they can find.

Want in on a little secret? With this book, you can be a word detective too.