Etymology

Polysemy vs. Homonymy: One Word, Many Meanings?

While "Bank" (river) and "Bank" (money) sound identical by pure historical accident, "Foot" (body) and "Foot" (mountain) share a deep…

2 weeks ago

The Capital “I”: Ego or Typography?

English is the only major language that capitalizes the first-person singular pronoun "I", a quirk that many assume stems from…

2 weeks ago

Demonyms: Why Citizens of Liverpool are Scousers

Why are people from Liverpool called Scousers, while residents of Manchester are Mancunians? From Roman forts to Norwegian stews, this…

2 weeks ago

How Dr. Seuss Invented ‘Nerd’

Where did the word 'nerd' come from? The answer lies not in a dusty dictionary, but in the whimsical pages…

2 months ago

How a Priest’s Lisp Changed a Language

The famous ‘th’ sound in Castilian Spanish is often attributed to a lisping king whose court mimicked his speech. This…

2 months ago

The Telegram That Named a Country

The name "Pakistan" is famously an acronym for the homelands of Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, and Sindh. But a fascinating, debated…

2 months ago

The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker

Ever wonder why so many English surnames sound like old jobs? This dive into linguistic history reveals how surnames like…

2 months ago

How a Fish Got Into the Telephone

Why is the Finnish word for 'fish' (kala) so similar to the Hungarian word (hal), despite being spoken 1,500km apart?…

2 months ago

The Fairy Tale Behind ‘Serendipity’

The delightful word 'serendipity' wasn't a happy accident itself, but a deliberate creation by 18th-century writer Horace Walpole. Inspired by…

2 months ago

How ‘Spinster’ Became an Insult

The word 'spinster' didn't always evoke images of a lonely old maid. It originally meant a woman who spun thread…

2 months ago

This website uses cookies.