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  • in Linguistics

    Please Don’t Lambast(e) Me

    I love all forms of word play. Before Easter, I heard a local news reporter pronounce the word <lambasted> “to criticize harshly, to assault violently” as /læmbeɪstɪd/, with the second syllable of the word pronounced like <baste> (rhymes with <waste>). I figured that he had had a slip of the tongue, which happens. No big […] More

  • in Linguistics, Structured Word Inquiry

    Word Matrix: Kin

      <kin> “family; race; kind, sort, rank; nature” from Old English cynn Word Sums Kin a + Kin -> akin Kin + Folk -> kinfolk Kin + s + Folk -> kinsfolk Kin + ship -> kinship Kin + hood -> kinhood Kin + State -> kinstate Kin + State + s -> kinstates Kin […] More

  • in Linguistics, Structured Word Inquiry

    Word Matrix: Rain

    <rain> “water from clouds” from Old English regn “rain” Word Sums Rain Rain + s -> rains Rain + ed -> rained Rain + ing -> raining Rain + y -> rainy Rain + y + er -> rainier Rain + y + est -> rainiest Rain + y + ly -> rainily Rain + […] More

  • in English Adverbs, English Nouns, Grammatical Function, Linguistics

    Not All Forms That Function as Adverbials Are Adverbs

    The other day I read a tweet that made some claims about adverbs: “The -s in “unawares,” as in “they were caught unawares,” is completely distinct from the pluralizing -s. It’s an adverb suffix, and it’s also in “always” and “nowadays,” and in “nights,” “weekends,” etc., as in “they work nights/weekends.” #FunWithMorphology” The -s in […] More

  • in Linguistics, Structured Word Inquiry

    Word Matrix: Pink

    <pink> “pale red color” meaning “pale rose color” first recorded 1733 “small” from Dutch pink “small” Word Sums pink Pink + s = pinks Pink + ed = pinked Pink + ing = pinking Pink + en = pinken Pink + en + s = pinkens Pink + en + ed = pinkened Pink + […] More

  • in Linguistics, Structured Word Inquiry

    Word Matrix: Yester

    <yester> “former, earlier, previous” from Old English geostran “yesterday” Words Sums Yester Yester + s = yesters Yester + Day = yesterday Yester + Day + s = yesterdays Yester + Eve = yestereve Yester + Eve + s = yestereves Yester + Even = yestereven Yester + Even + s = yesterevens Yester + […] More

  • in Linguistics, Structured Word Inquiry

    Word Matrix: Somn

    <somn> “sleep” from somnus “sleep” Words Sums Somn + us = somnus Somn + o + G(e)n(e) = somnogen Somn + o + G(e)n(e) + s = somnogens Somn + o + G(e)n(e) + ic = somnogenic Somn + ole + ism = somnolism Somn + ole + ent = somnolent Somn + ole + […] More

  • in Linguistics

    Lies Your Grammar Teacher Told You: Singular and Plural

    I recently shared a photo across my social media accounts of the grammar textbook that I currently use with my oldest. I included the following caption: “I always have to fix my kids’ grammar books. Plural means “not one.” If you have zero or less than zero of something, you use the plural form: ‘I […] More

  • in Linguistics, Structured Word Inquiry

    Word Matrix: Thaumate

    <thaumate> “wonder, astonishment, thing to look at, miracle,” from Greek thauma (genitive thaumatos), literally “a thing to look at,” from root of theater Words Sums Thaumate + ic = thaumatic Thaumate + in = thaumatin Thaumate + in + s = thaumatins Thaumate + Urge = thaumaturge Thaumate + Urge + s = thaumaturges Thaumate […] More

  • in Linguistics, Structured Word Inquiry

    Word Matrix: Thauma

    <thauma> “wonder, astonishment, thing to look at, miracle,” from Greek thauma (genitive thaumatos), literally “a thing to look at,” from root of theater Words Sums Thauma Thauma + s = thaumas Thauma + Trope = thaumatrope Thauma + Trope + s = thaumatropes Thauma + Vore = thaumavore Thauma + Vore + s = thaumavores […] More

  • in Linguistics, Structured Word Inquiry

    Word Matrix: Ichor

    <ichor> “ethereal fluid that serves for blood in the veins of the gods,” from French ichor or Modern Latin ichor, from Greek ikhōr Word Sums Ichor Ichor + s -> ichors Ichor + ous -> ichorous Ichor + Heme + i + a -> ichorhemia Petr + Ichor -> petrichor Morphemes ichor: ethereal fluid that […] More

  • in Linguistics, Structured Word Inquiry

    Word Matrix: Morrow

    <morrow> “morning” from Middle English morwe, variant of morwen, from Old English morgen   Word Sums Morrow Morrow + s = morrows Morrow + ed = morrowed Morrow + ing = To + Morrow = tomorrow To + Morrow + s = tomorrows To + Morrow + er = tomorrower To + Morrow + er […] More

  • in Linguistics, Structured Word Inquiry

    Word Matrix: Aqu

    <aqu> “water” from Latin aqua “water, the sea, rain” Word Sums Aqu + a -> aqua Aqu + a + s -> aquas Aqu + ate + ic -> aquatic Aqu + ate + ic + s -> aquatics Aqu + ate + ic + al + ly -> aquatically Aqu + a + Mare […] More

  • in Linguistics, Structured Word Inquiry

    Word Matrix: Birth

    <birth> “bear offspring,” from Old Norse burðr, byrd, replacing Old English ġebyrd “birth, descent, race; offspring; nature; fate,” from PIE *bhrto past participle of root *bher- “to carry; to bear children” with -th suffix meaning “process” Word Sums Birth Birth + s = births Birth + ed = birthed Birth + ing = birthing Birth […] More

  • in Linguistics, Structured Word Inquiry

    Word Matrix: Talc

    <talc> from Middle French talc, probably from Spanish talco and Medieval Latin talcus, also talcum “talc” from Arabic talq, from Persian talk “talc” (Note: One English spelling rule is to add a k when affixing a suffix that begins with an e, i, or y to a word that ends in c to preserve the […] More

  • in English Pronouns, Linguistics

    A Short History of ‘You’

    “What’s wrong with you?” posits the Oxford Dictionaries. But, seriously, what’s up with the oddness that is the second person personal pronoun in English: you. Spanish has six ways of referring to you: tú, vos, usted, vosotros, vosotras, and ustedes. German has eight: du, dich, dir, ihr, euch, Sie, Ihnen. Why does English have only […] More

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