Linguistics
Word Matrix: Prince<prince> “ruler of a principality” from Old French prince “prince, noble lord,” from Latin princeps “first man, chief leader; ruler, sovereign,”...
February 25, 2019- Word Matrix: Pumpkin
<pumpkin> alteration of earlier pumpion, from obsolete French pompon, via Latin from Greek pepōn “large melon” Words Sums Pumpkin Pumpkin +...
February 19, 2019 - Word Matrix: Vace
<vace> “empty” from Latin vacāre ” “to lack, empty” Words Sums Vace + ant = vacant Vace + ant + ly...
February 18, 2019 - Word Matrix: Swim
<swim> “move in water” Old English swimman (verb), of Germanic origin Word Sums Swim Swim + s = swims Swim +...
February 8, 2019 
Word Matrix: Thrall<thrall> Old English thrǣl “slave,” from Old Norse thræll Word Sums Thrall Thrall + s = thralls Thrall + ed =...
February 5, 2019- Word Matrix: Beer
<beer> “an alcoholic drink made from yeast-fermented malt flavored with hops” from Old English bēor, of West Germanic origin, based on...
February 2, 2019 - Word Matrix: Mare
<mare> “found in or pertaining to the sea,” from Old French marin “of the sea, maritime,” and directly from Latin marinus...
January 28, 2019 - Word Matrix: Hume
<hume> from Old French humide, umide “damp, wet” or directly from Latin humidus “moist, wet,” variant (probably by influence of humus...
January 27, 2019 - Word Matrix: Humid
<humid> from French humide or Latin humidus, from humere “be moist” Word Sums Humid Humid + er = humider Humid +...
January 26, 2019 - Determiners Are Not Adjectives
Traditional grammars categorize determiners with either adjectives or pronouns. But determiners are not adjectives. Repeat after me: Determiners are not adjectives....
January 12, 2019 - Christmastime Is Here: The Etymology of Christmas
Christmastime is here. Or is Christmas time here? From where and when does the word Christmas come? And is Xmas a...
December 13, 2018 - Pluralizing Last Names: Never Use an Apostrophe
One way in which nouns differ from other grammatical forms in the English language is grammatical number. Prototypical English nouns have...
November 16, 2018 - The History of All Hallows’ Eve: The Etymology of ‘Halloween’
Halloween, Hallowe’en, All Hallows’ Eve — English speakers use many names for the holiday that occurs each year on October 31....
October 28, 2018 - Why Is ‘Love’ Not Spelled ‘Luv’?
Have you ever thought about the English language and considered the orthographic system downright wacky? Many words have a “silent e”...
August 30, 2018 - No Doubt the “Silent B” Owes a Subtle Debt to History
School children all over the English-speaking world bemoan the many “silent” letters of English spelling. The orthographic system of the English...
August 28, 2018
Affiliates
Memberships
