Book Review: Starwords: The Celestial Roots of Modern Language
February 2026 :
Starwords: The Celestial Roots of Modern Language
by Daniel Kunth and Elena Terlevich, Chichester, UK: Praxis Publishing, 2024, ISBN 978-3-031-49023-1, softbound, $29.99, US
Reviewed by Francine Jackson
We probably don’t even notice, as we use them daily, but it’s amazing how many words in our language that originate from the sky. It took the book, Starwords, to show the reader how much we depend on celestial root words.
Even the non celestial-minded might enjoy finding, especially in early times, how useful looking up and determining how words in normal conversations manage to be related to what they can see overhead.
Just looking at our regular discussions: for example, Disaster – we all know what that means, but the two root words translate loosely to “bad star.”; all the words with“luna” as a part in it – lunette, lunatic. In addition, every chapter gives a list of sayings utilizing the subject: Written in the stars; starry eyed; born under a lucky star.
With every topic you will find many fables and legends relating to the chapter: Why Sirius is so bright; why are certain breakfast foods shaped like a crescent; what is a mercurial?
The Glossary contains every word used in the book, including others containing the same root. Also, each person listed within the book is introduced.
For a book as small as this one is, Starwords is full of so much material the reader might not decide to read it in one sitting. Plus, perhaps having paper and pen availble might be handy. There’s so much within its pages, don’t be surprised to find yourself keeping this book in easy reach. There will always be something of interest to learn.
