Wordplay

Word History (page 4)

We're Just 'Spitballing' Here...

It's not just about pranks anymore.

How 'Premises' Came to Mean 'Property'

It goes back to the beginning

Breathing Life Into 'Inspire'

The word's origins are quite literal

'So Long': A Common But Mysterious Goodbye

Its origins are surprisingly murky.

A New Kind of 'Social'?

Disrupting the human interaction business

Drawing a Conclusion About 'Sketchy'

How did "sketchy" come to describe creeps?

How 'Wonderful' Lost Its Sense of Wonder

A case of semantic bleaching

What's the Plural of 'Maitre d''?

Use this word to confuse a French speaker.

Running After the History of 'Lackey'

Are lackeys lacking something?

How Brooding Chickens Brought Us Brooding Skies

No, the chickens aren't moody

The Silent History of 'Parlor'

Let's talk about it.

'Mickey Mouse' Isn't Always Complimentary

In the end, he is a mouse...

'Cartoon': Not Just For Kids

From fine art to Flinstones.

Our (Almost) Final Word on 'Penultimate'

The ultimate guide to using penultimate.

The Grammatical History of 'Awaken' / 'Awoken' / 'Awakened'

Or you can just go back to bed.

'Drought' & 'Drouth' Take Us Back In Time

A variant spelling with a long history

A Nun's 'Habit' & A Mini-Skirt

They have more in common than you might think.

Our Verdict on 'Judgy'

Will word nerds judge you for this?

Words of the Year: 1066

English was never the same after the Norman Conquest

Had a Long Day of Travel? Check Into a Hospital

Four related words that share a single root

'Tantalizing': The Word's Origin in Greek Myth

A brief history of infernal frustration

'Patriot' Hasn't Always Been Positive

The word has roots in a religious rivalry

A Pineapple Is An Apple (Kind Of)

Pineapple once had a different, more internationally common name.

Read This to Get 'Smart'

A thinking person's guide

Get Ready To (Define) Splurge

Celebrate National Splurge Day

Looking at 'Booty'

(The word)

Grocery's Boozy History

'Grocery' once meant "barroom."

An 'Invaluable' Lesson

You can't put a price on it

Smash Hit Packs a Punch

No one was injured in the making of this phrase

Of 'Nunchucks' And Nuns

If a nunchuck could chuck…

Become a True Dictionary Buff

Don't make the dictionary into something it is not.

Why Laser Doesn't Have a 'Z'

You're going to be the smartest person at laser tag

Keep Calm and Harp On

No, we won't leave you alone.

How English Got Frenchified

And wound up with pairs of words—one fancy, one not—for the same things

A New Dictionary for a New President

JFK and Webster's Third

Body Slam's Surprising Start

Body slams were once part of an unexpected sport

Read on to Become Part of the Dictionary 'Illuminati'

Secrets will be revealed.

How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language

"I bow to you"

Notes on 'Campy'

Plus: how to use n'importe in a sentence

What is 'Sin'?

It's striking how little this word has changed

The History of 'Blackmail'

The ‘mail’ means “payment” or “rent”

The History of 'Bran(d)-new'

'Spanking' and 'fire' are involved

Something Wicked: The Story of an Adverb

It's a New England thing

Ella Fitzgerald: Beyond Words

Making sense of Lady Ella's scat singing

What does 'shebang' mean?

Is it a dwelling place? A vehicle? Yes.

What Does It Mean to Be 'Presidential'?

The word is older than the U.S. presidency

Have We Become Oblivious of 'Oblivious'?

From 'forgetful' to 'unaware'

It Takes Two: The History of 'Rival'

Rivalry was originally about water rights

Breaking Bread with 'Companion'

A word in good company

The Lost Meanings of 'Farm' and 'Farmer'

Because money doesn't grow on trees

The History of 'Girn'

Plus: why people didn't 'grin' until the 1600s

Your 'Deadline' Won't Kill You

Or will it?

A Tale of Two 'Repairs'

Some problems of English spelling can't be fixed

Why do we call it a 'train'?

The 'clothing' meaning came first

Merriam-Webster and LACMA: Words and Pictures

When a dictionary talks to a museum

How did 'gridlock' move so quickly?

The word is relatively new

How a Mistake Gave Us the Word 'Cherry'

Errors made our language what it is

The Colorful History of 'Miniature'

The word wasn't originally about size

Why Do We Say 'Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve'?

The answer may come from medieval jousts

How the 'Ring Finger' Got Its Name

Leeches and earwax

Where Does the Word 'Trivia' Come From?

You may be quizzed on this later

How did English get so salty?

A short history involving sailors

Why Don't We Call It 'Woodchuck Day'?

The history of 'Groundhog Day'

The Hirsute History of 'Horror'

'Horror' is a hairy situation

'Whiskey' and 'Whisky' and Alchemy

Thank the alchemists

The Origin of 'Inaugurate'

It's all about telling what the future holds

How the Toilet Got Its Name

It shares a root with the noun 'toil'

'Humble Pie', 'Sass', and 7 More Words that Meant Something Different in Colonial America

Times—and the language—were different back then

The Origin of 'Refugee'

It originally referred to the Huguenots

'Whole Milk', 'British English', and 16 More Retronyms

New(er) words for old things

How the Ukulele Got Its Name

An insect was (inadvertently) involved

The Erstwhile Meaning of 'Erstwhile'

The word can mean either 'former' or 'formerly'

It's 'Kismet'

This article is your destiny

The Putrid Origin of 'Potpourri'

It shares a root with 'putrescent'

The Odd History of 'Odd'

The word comes to us from geography

Why does 'indifferent' have so many meanings?

How to differentiate between them

Why Did We Stop Using 'Thou'?

The controversy over singular 'you'

The Culinary Roots of 'Farce'

It's related to something called 'forcemeat'

The History of the Word 'Villain'

Villains are scarier than they used to be

The Origin of 'Halloween.' Or 'Hallowe'en'?

Don't be scared of that apostrophe

What's Wrong with 'Donate'?

People used to really hate this word

A Word for Halloween: Scarify

Use this word. We dare you.

Does 'bashful' mean "full of bash"?

What is 'bash,' anyway?

The History Behind 8 Halloween Words

These words haunt us

Is 'bookworm' positive or negative?

Are bookworms devoted or addicted?

Hot Mess

Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings

The Strange History of 'Ragamuffin'

The word is linked to two fall holidays

The History of 'Jack-O'-Lantern'

How the jack-o'-lantern got its name

'Narrowcasting' vs. 'Broadcasting'

When a broadcast is aimed at a narrow audience

The Racist Origins of 'Tipping Point'

No, Malcolm Gladwell didn't invent it

'Venom' and the Goddess of Love

Who knew 'venom' could be so lovely?

The Original Hipsters

Hint: they carried things on their hips

Where does 'spitting image' come from?

And what about 'splitting image'?

'Mall': It's Not Just for Shopping

It used to be all fun and games

The History of 'Swank'

Champagne. Chandeliers. Robert Burns.

10 'Rude' Words From Old Etiquette Guides

Rule 1, never say 'thanks'

'Has your mother sold her mangle?' Slang and the Dictionary

Giving you the skinny on the history of slang in the dictionary

Infographic: How a Word Gets Into the Dictionary

See? It's easy

The Secret Histories of 'Catastrophe,' 'Debacle,' and More

'Tragedy' didn't always mean "disaster"

The Hairy History of 'Sideburns'

Lousy general. Amazing hair.

When Did 'Campaign' Become Political?

From the French word for 'countryside'

Get Schooled on 'School'

Two history lessons on 'school'

A Brief History of 'Hack'

This word gets a lot of mileage

A Look Back at 'Throwback'

It's not just for Thursdays

The Wriggly History of 'Earworm'

I just can't get you out of my head

How a Saint Gave Us the Word 'Tawdry'

A tawdry history

10 Words That Prove Fame Isn't Everything

Not all publicity is good

Did Warren Harding Coin 'Normalcy'?

Umm...define 'normalcy'
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