I found an interesting link on the Origin of words!!
I thought of sharing it with the others who might be interested.
For example the word 'pug' as in pug-marks comes from the Hindi word 'pag'
as in pag-chinhh ie foot steps.
Etymology is the study of the origins of words: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology
You can have a look at the funny, interesting and engrossing book 'How to build a better vocabulary' by Morris Rosenblum, Maxwell Nurnberg
A paperback edition, it is available quite cheaply.
Though mostly used by TOEFL students it is very interesting :-)
Many words have interesting stories behind them. Like the phrase 'Cutting the Gordian Knot' which is explained in the book. It starts every chapter with a funny and apt Cartoon. I especially liked the one which goes - "No, No. This is a stalactite and That is a stalagmite'
Happy Reading
