History
Learn something new about the history of language from all around the world with these surprising articles and videos.
Words Popularized by Shakespeare That We Still Use
16 Spanish-Derived Words That Highlight Hispanic Cultures
Does Boxing Day Have Anything To Do With Boxing?
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Slam Poetry Is Helping People Work Through Their Pain
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Did One Man Write The First Great English Dictionary All By Himself?
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What Is Whisky Tango Foxtrot And Other Army Lingo
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The United States Of Diversity: Borders
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What Is A Midwestern Accent Like That In Fargo Called?
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Take A Ride Around The World On These Unusual Transports
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The Original Memes (Before Memes)
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The Mind-Bending Stroop Effect: Don’t Read These Words!
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What Is Louisiana Creole And How Was It Created?
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The Racist History of “Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe”
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Taser: A Surprising Acronym With An Unsettling Story
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Why Do We Call It A “Wife Beater” Shirt?
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What Do “Numpire” and “Ewt” Have in Common?
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Who’s to Blame for Weird English Spellings?
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The Reasons to Swear. A Lot.
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Does Boxing Day Have Anything To Do With Boxing?
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What Is A Bastille?
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Cankers, Caterpillars, and Malt-worms: 3 Shakespearean Insults
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Normalcy and Squirmishes: Misunderestimating the Words of Politicians
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You Didn’t Invent That: Charles Dickens and Boredom
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The Problem With Awesome
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Wearable or Personal Computer: Which Came First?
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You Didn’t Invent That: Shakespeare’s Spurious Neologisms
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You Didn’t Invent That: F. Scott Fitzgerald and “Jazz Age”
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You Didn’t Invent That: Ian Fleming and “Ninja”
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What Does “Sophomore” Mean?
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Why Is Easter Island Named “Easter”?
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Lexical Investigations: Motley
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Lexical Investigations: Camouflage
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Who Coined The Term “Fashionista”?
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Lexical Investigations: Etymology
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Lexical Investigations: Karma
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Seventh Heaven: Decoding the days of the week
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Lexical Investigations: Desiderata
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Lexical Investigations: Awkward
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Lexical Investigations: Labyrinth
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Lexical Investigations: Balaclava
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How Do You Say “Basketball” In Latin?
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Lexical Investigations: Holistic
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Lexical Investigations: Art
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Why Is The Football Team Called The 49ers?
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Lexical Investigations: Appendix
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Where is the Middle East? The Near East? The Far East?
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Why are zero and the letter “O” both circles? The answer involves both science and mysticism
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Did You Know There Is A Law That Bans The Use Of Confusing Words And Sentences In Government Documents
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A Baby Named “Like” And The History Of Names (Anthroponymy)
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A lost, legendary dictionary is rediscovered. Where was it found, and what language is it for?
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Typewriters Were Originally Created To Help The Blind