Oxford School Dictionary of Word Origins 2009 | Explore Curious Twists & Cool Weird Words by John Ayto | Perfect for Students, Writers & Word Lovers | English Etymology Reference Book for Classroom & Home Study

This is a neat toy and quite useful. Knowing the origin of a word adds to the understanding of that word (usually). A lot of simpler dicitionaries for kids and other learners, while having good simple (but clear) definitions, often omit the word's origin. This book (along with the Heron Derivations Dictionary) bridges the gap quite nicely in straigtforward English. Too many larger dicitionaries are written by Lexicographers to impress other lexicographers not to impart a clear understanding of a word.