The Dord, the Diglot, and an Avocado or Two: The Hidden Lives and Strange Origins of Common and Not-So-Common Words

by Anu Garg

From the creator of the popular A.Word.A.Day e-mail newsletter A collection of some of the most interesting stories and fascinating origins behind more than 300 words, names, and terms by the founder of WordSmith.org. Did you know- There's a word for the pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell? Petrichor , combining petros (Greek for stone ) and ichor (the fluid that flows in the veins of Greek gods). An illeist is one who...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452288614
• ISBN13: 9780452288614
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Plume Books
• Length: 180 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.2" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Just what you're looking for!

If you're a word nerd or a language lover, this is the book for you. I was searching for a birthday present for a linguaphile friend of mine, and decided that this would be a pretty good purchase. Boy, was I wrong -- it was a great purchase! I found myself reading through the chapters, picking up all kinds of useful knowledge like the origin of the word "cappuccino" (it's pretty interesting, and I won't spoil it for you). Seriously, this is a fun and interesting book on word origins and I highly recommend it. I'm willing to bet that Garg's other books are also great, and I can't wait to check them out.

Word Play

Most people rarely learn a new word after they pass their last vocabulary test in school. That's a shame. Words and their origins can be the source of a lot of fun. Anu Garg makes that point obvious in The Dord, the Diglot, and an Avocado or Two by providing clever word puzzles and word histories filled with fascinating details, humor, and irony. If you can't get enough after you read the book, subscribe to Garg's online weekly newsletter. Let me give you two samples of the book: 1. "Orthographically speaking, what do the two countries Afghanistan and Tuvalu have in common?" (Hint: Look closely.) 2. "Dord: The word density had a short-lived synonym: dord . . . While the second edition of Webster's New International Dictionary was under way, an editor received an entry 'D or d,' which was defined as density, where the uppercase D and the lowercase d were abbreviations for the word density. The editor conflated the letters as dord and a new word was born." The material is organized around themes into chapters with the quiz questions inserted to keep you awake. Entries are short so this is a good book to read when you just have a few minutes to spare. I read it while waiting for my car to be aligned, and the car guys were wondering what was so funny. An on-going theme is the mobility of language as meanings grow, shift, and sometimes even become their polar opposites. I was particularly intrigued by the many mechanisms by which the real world turns into fiction and words and fiction creates new words with precise story-defined meanings. Anu Garg has a sense of humor and a love of words that's contagious. This book would be a great gift for a youngster who is at that age where he or she would like to learn words that would puzzle others (the chapter on obscure insult words that people won't know are insulting would appeal to many a 13 year-old). I actually was inspired by the many references to Dickens to want to read some of his books that I haven't read. Perhaps you will be, too. The book also has an index that allows you to easily look up the word that intrigues you from its very appearance or sound (such as Throttlebottom perhaps). Enjoy a Cook's tour of the English language while picking up amusing furphy during the nychthemeron it will take you to read this book!

A philomath's delight

This booklet is a source of endless delight for those who love learning the meaning and origin of new words . Thanks, Anu Garg Pedro Solberg Rio de Janeiro,Brazil

Word lovers delight

Dord, Diglot, and Avocado are all words with very interesting origins. The title sets the stage for the whole book. I found it to be a spellbinder.

Wonderful wonderful words !

If you love language and cherish your own rich and interesting vocabulary, you've got to read this book ! It is full of fascinating, odd and wonderful words, that you may be able to work into a sentence or two, or maybe even a conversation. In a world in which words are shrinking, and where text-messaging is creating a whole new vocabulary of non-words, this book is a breath of fresh air. If you love words and their origins, you will love this book !