One of the problems that have arisen out of the ubiquity of such internet tools as Google and Wikipedia is our increasing tendency to rely on them for answers to our questions. I am sure we have all had experience of quoting a definition from these sources, only to be disproved subsequently. In any event, when looking for the origins and definitions, I frequently revert to Google Books. Here one can sometimes find definitions that pre-exist the internet era. It is not always a guarantee that such definitions are likely to be any more accurate than those posted by enthusiastic amateurs on Wikipedia or Wiktionary, but they do often provide an interesting alternative.
One such book is this The Etymological Compendium – By William Pulleyn. Written in 1830 it provides all sorts of explanations of the origins of words, customs and inventions. Continue reading “The Etymological Compendium – By William Pulleyn”
Boadicea's Chariot 