Thereby Hangs a Tale: Stories of Curious Word Origins (Harper Colophon Books) by Charles Earle Funk

Most of the words in our language have come down to us with little or no drama associated with their origins. But there are hundreds of words in our common speech that originated or acquired their meanings in unusual ways, and the dictionaries cannot find the space to give us the stories. This book thoroughly and entertainingly tells the stories of hundreds of these words and the circumstances that brought them into our language.