Notes

Springing from writer and journalist Mark Forsyth's blog The Inky Fool and including word-connection parlour games perfect for any word-lovers get-together, The Etymologicon is a map of the labyrinth that lurks beneath the English language. There is always a connection. Sometimes, it's obvious: an actor's role was once written on a roll of parchment, and cappuccinos are the same colour as the robes of a Capuchin monk. Sometimes the connection is astonishing and a little more hidden: who would have guessed that your pants and panties are named after Saint Pantaleon, the all-compassionate?