etymologist

A few etymologists liken the scooped blade of the scull to the hollow basin of the skull—and others have argued that humans once made these drinking-bowls from actual human skulls.

In 1934, Allen Walker Read, an etymologist and lexicographer, laid out the history of the word that, then, had “the deepest stigma of any in the language.”

John Kelly, an etymologist and senior research editor at Dictionary.com, wrote in a 2017 post on his etymology website, Mashed Radish.

Farmer: While etymologists are unsure of the origin of “punt” as it relates to football, that connection to gambling is not among the leading theories.

As it happens, far from a crusty don, Forsyth isn’t much over 40, according to his bio, and is best known in Britain as a witty etymologist.