word origins

English Doublets: Words That Deceive

** Have you ever wondered why *shirt* and *skirt* sound so similar? They are "etymological doublets"—words from the same root…

3 weeks ago

Herein, Aforesaid, Notwithstanding: Why Legal Language Is a Language of Its Own

Have you ever felt lost reading a contract full of words like "aforesaid" and "notwithstanding"? This is "legalese," a unique…

3 weeks ago

Reading the Landscape: How Forgotten Languages Are Fossilized in Place Names

What if the map on your wall was a Rosetta Stone, holding the key to forgotten languages and ancient migrations?…

3 weeks ago

The Language of Salt: How a Single Commodity Carved Paths Across the Lexicon

Long before refrigeration, salt was a mineral so valuable that Roman soldiers were paid in it, giving us the word…

3 weeks ago

The Character with a Secret History: How a Roman Scribble Became the Ampersand

The ampersand (&) is more than a simple stand-in for "and"; it's a linguistic fossil with a secret history. This…

3 weeks ago

A Word to Name the Unspeakable: Raphael Lemkin and the Creation of “Genocide”

Discover the powerful story of Raphael Lemkin, the Polish-Jewish lawyer who witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust and created a…

3 weeks ago

Famous Mistranslations: “Let Them Eat Cake!”

The phrase "Let them eat cake" is one of the most notorious remarks attributed to a historical figure. This sentence…

2 years ago

Shakespeare: The Master of Inventing Words

Few writers have left as indelible a mark on the English language as William Shakespeare. Beyond the unforgettable characters and…

2 years ago

English Words of Suprising Origin – Part III

Our linguistic odyssey continues as we venture further into the intriguing world of English loan words. We are constantly reminded…

2 years ago

English Words of Suprising Origin – Part II

Our exploration of English loan words continues as we delve deeper into the richness of etymology, taking an engaging linguistic…

2 years ago

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