Word perfect

Woking-born Susie Dent has been in Countdown’s Dictionary Corner for more than 20 years. Here she shares her love affair with words and her latest book offering readers a daily dose of etymology for the soul

- Rebecca Younger

Your latest book feels like a ‘bible’ for anyone who has even a vague interest in etymology. Has it been a long time in the making?

In many ways it’s been a lifetime in the making! I’ve always been a word hoarder, collecting odds and ends of language that caught my eye. Even when I was little, I was far more interested in a vocabulary book than a new pair of jeans – and things haven’t changed much since! Word Perfect has allowed me to gather some of my absolute favourite etymologies – as well as some of the forgotten words from the past that we really ought to bring back. It was a joy to bring them all together.

Do you have a favourite entry?