Link-a-Day: Etymology

Last week, I mentioned obsolete words as a source of muse inspiration.  So can word origins, or etymology.  The best site?  Etymonline.  Another source for etymologies is M-W.com.  Not only can you look up how anachronistic a word would be for your novel's setting, but you can also find a name for characters or objects that hold deeper meaning.  Or it's a good way to help you see how a word changes through time, and will provide a model or inspiration for inventing your own languages.

There's so much you can do there.  So, what are you waiting for?