Call me a nerd, but I’m a big fan of etymology. I like to know where a word came from and appreciate its historical journey. For anyone not in the know, etymology is the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history. Word origins are not only educational, but they’re also often wacky, historically intriguing, and humorous. As a registered word nerd, I recently read this book, Origins of the Specious, by word mavens Patricia T. O’Conner and Stewart Kellerman to learn more about this oddity we call English.

Origins of the Specious by Patricia T. O’Connor and Stewart Kellerman, published in 2009.

Origins of the Specious provides a swath of stories about common word misconceptions. The language is engaging and anecdotal as it dissects seemingly complex myths and origin stories. It’s witty while being incredibly well researched. They poke holes in widely assumed origins, like the idea the Caesarian section was named after Julius Caesar (it wasn’t) or that the “GI” in GI Joe once stood for “government issue” (it didn’t).

If you aren’t typically the type to dig in on a book about words, I’ve culled through Origins of the Specious for you. Here are five of my favorite topics and stories from the book.

My Top Five Word Origins

“Niche”

This word has always perplexed me. Everybody has their own preferred manner of pronouncing ‘niche’. Some say ‘NEESH’ while others say ‘NITCH’. In my experience, the traditional thinking is that ‘NEESH’ is somehow the more proper, or at least more bougie, pronunciation. Turns out that those of us who still say ‘NITCH’ aren’t as wrong as people might think.