The more I write, the more obsessed I become with etymology. The right word isn’t just the one that sounds right; it has to have all the right connections, roots, and deeper meanings. And names! Don’t get me started on names.

In addition to my various etymological reference books (Oxford Concise Dictionary of English Etymology, Collins Latin Dictionary Plus Grammar, Holder’s Dictionary of Euphemisms), there are some great online resources.

A wonderful, free etymology site is Etymonline which is both comprehensive and authoritative. It’s the kind of high-quality, niche site that fully redeems the Internet from the likes of Facebook and, er, Blogger. Etymonline’s links page is also worth a browse.

Another of my favourites is Behind the Name, which is devoted to “the etymology and history of first names”. I don’t much like to use any name in a story without knowing where it came from. One of the best features of this site is the ‘Related Names’ link associated with each entry. One could write an entire novel peopled by characters with names derived from ‘John’, and I bet readers would hardly be the wiser.

Sure, I’m a geek, but I’m proud.