Francis Wood, a linguist known for his work on Latin and Greek etymology, here presents the thesis “Difference in meaning is of itself no bar to connecting words.” In other words, when discussing the origin of a modern meaning, one must be sensitive to words often used with the targeted word in expressions, since no word functions in a vacuum. In this view words themselves do not change in meaning, rather the application of words figuratively or in combination causes a shift from the old meaning to a newer meaning. This simple thesis leads to a variety of interesting points, making this a fascinating read for both casual and professional linguists, and everyone in between.