<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
<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
I recently tweeted my post entitled Using Nouns and Noun Phrases as Indirect Objects. To my tweet, I received a comment that argued that, although the cat in I gave the cat a bath is indeed a recipient, the cat is not an indirect object but rather a direct object. Analyzing the cat as a […] More
<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
<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
<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
