insurable

One of our readers recently asked about the differences between assure, ensure, and insure. All three of these words ultimately derive from the Latin word sēcūrus meaning “safe.” As with many words that share ancestors, these terms’ meanings overlap thematically, but they’re not necessarily interchangeable. Here’s a look at the key differences. Assure was the first of the three to enter English with a reflexive sense of “to have …

As readers, we recognize prefixes, like dis-, in-, non- and un-, as expressing negation. We immediately know that “unfair” means “not fair.” However, there are some clear exceptions to these rules. Such anomalies can cause  confusion for a few reasons. For one, the prefix in- also literally means in, such as inquire, inclose, and insure. The word impromptu for instance comes directly from the Latin …