<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
“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
<wint(e)r> Old English winter (plural wintru) “fourth and coldest season of the year” Words Sums Wint(e)r = winter Wint(e)r + s = winters Wint(e)r + ed = wintered Wint(e)r + ing = wintering Wint(e)r + ish = winterish Wint(e)r + y = wintery Wint(e)r + y + er = winterier Wint(e)r + y + est […] More
<solve> “disperse, dissipate, loosen” from Latin solvere Word Sums Solve Solve + s = solves Solve + ed = solved Solve + ing = solving Solve + er = solver Solve + er + s = solvers Solve + ate = solvate Solve + ate + s = solvates Solve + ate + ed = […] More
<ornithe> “bird” from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (órnis, “bird”) Word Sums Ornithe + s = ornithes Ornithe + ic = ornithic Ornithe + ine = ornithine Ornithe + ine + s = ornithines Ornithe + Ischi + a = ornithischia Ornithe + Ischi + an = ornithischian Ornithe + Ischi + an + s = ornithischians […] More
<prince> “ruler of a principality” from Old French prince “prince, noble lord,” from Latin princeps “first man, chief leader; ruler, sovereign,” noun use of adjective meaning “that takes first,” from primus “first,” clip of principle Word Sums Prince Prince + s = princes Prince + ess = princess Prince + ess + es = princesses […] More
<pumpkin> alteration of earlier pumpion, from obsolete French pompon, via Latin from Greek pepōn “large melon” Words Sums Pumpkin Pumpkin + s = pumpkins Pumpkin + y = pumpkiny Pumpkin + Like = pumpkinlike Pumpkin + ish = pumpkinish Pumpkin + Seed = pumpkinseed Pumpkin + Seed + s = pumpkinseeds Pumpkin + Head = […] More
<vace> “empty” from Latin vacāre ” “to lack, empty” Words Sums Vace + ant = vacant Vace + ant + ly = vacantly Vace + ant + ness = vacantness Vace + ant + ness + es = vacantnesses non + Vace + ant = nonvacant Vace + ance + y = vacancy Vace + […] More
<swim> “move in water” Old English swimman (verb), of Germanic origin Word Sums Swim Swim + s = swims Swim + ing = swimming Swim + ing + ly = swimmingly Swim + er = swimmer Swim + er + s = swimmers non + Swim + er = nonswimmer non + Swim + er […] More
<thrall> Old English thrǣl “slave,” from Old Norse thræll Word Sums Thrall Thrall + s = thralls Thrall + ed = thralled Thrall + ing = thralling en + thrall = enthrall en + Thrall + s = enthralls en + Thrall + ed = enthralled en + Thrall + ing = enthralling en + […] More
<beer> “an alcoholic drink made from yeast-fermented malt flavored with hops” from Old English bēor, of West Germanic origin, based on monastic Latin biber “a drink,” from Latin bibere “to drink” Words Sums Beer Beer + s -> beers Beer + ed -> beered Beer + ing -> beering Beer + y -> beery Beer […] More
<mare> “found in or pertaining to the sea,” from Old French marin “of the sea, maritime,” and directly from Latin marinus “of the sea,” from mare “sea, the sea, seawater” Word Sums Mare + ine = marine Mare + ine + s = marines Mare + ine + a = marina Mare + ine + […] More
<hume> from Old French humide, umide “damp, wet” or directly from Latin humidus “moist, wet,” variant (probably by influence of humus “earth”) of umidus, from umere “be moist, be wet” Word Sums Hume + id = humid Hume + id + er = humider Hume + id + est = humidest Hume + id + […] More
<humid> from French humide or Latin humidus, from humere “be moist” Word Sums Humid Humid + er = humider Humid + est = humidest Humid + i + ty = humidity Humid + i + ty + es = humidities Humid + i + Fy = humidify Humid + i + Fy + es = […] More
Christmastime is here. Or is Christmas time here? From where and when does the word Christmas come? And is Xmas a secular perversion that seeks to remove the Christ from Christmas or an acceptable abbreviation? Even though Christmas is an important holiday for modern Christians, the church did not celebrate the birth of Jesus in […] More
One way in which nouns differ from other grammatical forms in the English language is grammatical number. Prototypical English nouns have both singular and plural forms. The holiday season often causes problems for English users when mailing out seasonal cards. While some last names are easy to pluralize (Johnson becomes Johnsons), others are trickier (Does […] More
The road to our contemporary national Thanksgiving is filled with missteps, misinformation, and many winding paths that eventually come together to form the celebration of today. More
Halloween, Hallowe’en, All Hallows’ Eve — English speakers use many names for the holiday that occurs each year on October 31. Which is the correct form, and from when and where does the word arise? While the Halloween holiday begins as far back as Samhain of the ancient Celtic people and winds through history, the […] More
Learn about the history of Halloween costumes from the ancient Celts through modern America. More
Have you ever thought about the English language and considered the orthographic system downright wacky? Many words have a “silent e” at the end and others have a “silent b” in the middle. Not even the second month of the year gets away without an r that may or may not be pronounced. Befuddling as […] More
