Why aren't bald eagles bald? What's the link between gnomes and being enormous? What connects a Christmas carol with the Russian for "street?" Tracing the routes of more than 500 English words through time and across the globe, this guide underscores the surprising, amusing twists, turns, and encounters between words on their long journeys into modern English. For instance, the Kêres--Greek goddesses of destruction who haunted Homeric battlefields dressed in blood-soaked robes, would probably be a little miffed to learn that the only decay with which they are today synonymous is tooth decay, or caries. Neither a straightforward dictionary of etymology nor a linear history of language, this is an entertaining alphabetical analysis of the stories behind many everyday words. It is an ideal companion for journalists, teachers, historians, or simply anyone who is interested in the fascinating story of the English language.