All In a Word

Given the relative freedom of compounding and metaphorical extension, German speakers can manufacture a word for nearly anything they want.

Some grammarians put "congratulations" on the list of "pluralia tantum," words that occur only in plural, like belongings, leftovers, and trousers.

"Safari," one of Swahili’s best-known contribution to English, has Arabic roots – a result of close ties between Oman and the Tanzanian coast.

Thinking and talking about possibilities and imagined futures is essential to the way we humans navigate our lives. 

Does the price of oil fluctuate wildly or widely? These two words are often used interchangeably – can they actually be synonyms?

Words like Gafol-fisc (“tax fish”) have disappeared from modern English, as we no longer pay taxes with bushels of fish.

Today, "woolgathering" sounds harmless. But its negative connotations – like absent-mindedness – reflect past scorn for impoverished women.

"Reticent" has meant “reluctant” almost as long as it's meant “reserved.” Language mavens have agitated against this "new” use dating from the 1800s.

The U.S. Constitution prevents the government from issuing titles of nobility, but the not-quite-a-title esquire slipped through.

The solicitor general reports to the attorney general, who heads the Department of Justice. The president’s lawyer is the White House counsel. Why? 

The vagueness of -teenth might be intentional, to symbolize the way liberty was experienced, piecemeal, on different days as the news spread.

In English, the cat is out of the bag. But our Dutch-speaking friends talk of monkeys coming out of sleeves.

It’s “grooming” when we take care of our dogs, cats, and horses. A more sinister sense predominates, however.

Once shunned by both the Ukrainian and Russian elite, Surzhyk has been adopted by Ukraine’s counterculture.

What does the phrase 'begs the question' really mean, and why is its use – or misuse – so contentious?

Poles might have francuzi (“Frenchies”) in their cupboards, while Rhaeto-Romance speakers in Switzerland could have a sclaf (“Slav”) or two. 

Current attitudes toward the use of the Cyrillic versus Latin script reflect religious differences and shifting political and economic ties.

Athens applied sanctions to a rival city-state in 432 B.C., but the word acquired its current economic and political sense after World War I.

One has Latin roots, the other Greek. Both are used interchangeably and, perhaps, incorrectly. But is it worth nitpicking?

The word "next" is what linguists and philosophers call an "indexical" – a "linguistic expression whose reference can shift from context to context."