Tag: Etymology

If you had to write about "their", what would you write?

The etymology of the word “fascinating” comes from witchcraft. That explains why people say “fascinating” slowly, as though one is in a spell. I looked up “fascinating” because my three-year-old asked me what that word meant. I thought that “fascinating”…

This year both NFL conference championship games ended with controversies. The New Orleans Saints lost to the Los Angeles Rams in overtime. Some say the Saints should have won due to some officiating mistake. The Kansas City Chiefs lost to…

Those goofy cardboard sleeves around takeout coffee cups. What are they called? Today I learned they are called a Zarf. What an wonderful word. Zarf. How in the world is it such a cool word? Is that for real? Yes,…

The curly thing at the end of a staircase handrail is called a volute. Any architecture ornament that is a spiral is also called a volute. Today volute is dictionary.com’s Word of the Day. Volute. Why are curly, spiral things…

  [button link=”http://spudart.deviantart.com/art/Science-fiction-is-totally-cool-589672191?purchase=print” size=”large” color=”orange”]» Art prints and canvas available[/button] Giant alien robots invade Chicago! Death rays shoot out of their eyes. The campy setup makes for a great B-movie sci-fi thriller poster. What could be more fun? Swap out…

The word tortoise is quite a mystery. Tortoise is a weird word. Tortoise. Tortoise. Just look at it. Tortoise. Tor-toise. It almost sounds dainty. But it’s for a clunky turtle. Etymonline.com doesn’t reveal much: 1550s, altered (perhaps by influence of…

Looking to write something unique in a wedding card? Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. You see it so often. But what does it really mean? At work a card was being passed around for a former coworker who is getting married. “Congratulations”…

Etymology. There’s no app for that. Dear iPhone developers, Please give the world an app for etymology. Much love, matt

What does styrofoam mean? Styro. You’d think that’s made up, right? Styrofoam is a trademark name by Dow Chemical Co. in 1950. It’s based from the word polystyrene. (see polystyrene) What does polystyrene mean? Etymonline.com says: 1927, so called because…

The etymology of joy reveals that joy means to cause a person to be in a state of gladness.

You know what’s a funny word to say over and over? Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy.…

I’d love to see all the words that have origins in the 20th century. All the entries would be sorted by year. Random House’s little online section is cute, New Words: Sixty years of new words. It lists a handful…

Update. That’s a weird word when you look at it. Up. Date. It’s like a day that’s up in the air. Even weirder, according to etymonline.com the word “update” has only been around since 1948. Oooooh, I’m so curious what…

Did you know that "smarmy" originally meant "smooth and sleek?" Discover the fascinating history behind this word and how it came to mean "ingratiating, unctuous."

How does one spell the word Cutsie/Cutesie? Cutesy: 1,300,000 google results Cutsie: 409,000 results Cutezee: 351,000 results Cutesie: 208,000 results Cutsey: 163,000 results Cutesie la-tootsie: 1 result (this very blog post) Cütesîe: 0 results Three observations: Cutesy is the clear-cut cute winner. Cutezee…