Since interest in burlesque grew in the 2010s—and may have peaked with the release of the movie Burlesque starring Cher and Christina Aguilera—people have been curious to learn more about this type of dance. Is burlesque strictly performed in seedy venues? Is it just a fancy word for striptease? What is burlesque? Luckily for word enthusiasts, burlesque derives from a rich tradition and a compelling meaning. Traditionally, …
Tensions are high on the Korean Peninsula. The aggression by North Korea on the South has captured the world’s attention and raised a number of questions about Korea’s history, names, and geography. Prior to 1910, Korea was a kingdom. Then, from 1910 to 1945, the country was under Japanese rule. At the end of World War II, the country was divided into two occupational zones along the …
After hours of calculation, deliberation, and lexical prestidigitation, we are pleased to reveal our selection for the 2010 Word of the Year. In 2010, millions of people visited Dictionary.com to learn the right spelling, pronunciation, or definition of millions of words. Our Word of the Year directly reflects the hard work of our users—a word that experienced a surge of look-ups in the past 12 months. …
If someone asked you to name the most beautiful word or phrase in English, how would you choose? Would it be based on the meaning of the word? How it sounds? How it’s spelled? There are some words, like “love,” “comely,” or “demure,” that seem like solid contenders. But the compound word that some believe to be the most inherently beautiful will likely come as …
A mysterious event in the sky outside of Los Angeles last week grabbed the attention of the media and conspiracy theorists. Was it a secret missile test? Even the Pentagon seemed flummoxed. This week, the military weighed in, dismissing it as the contrail of an ordinary jet. Not to be confused with a coelacanth, the Contras, or any conspiracy-themed topic, a contrail is the benign conjoining of “condensation” and …
For the last 14 years, Jack was the most common boy’s name in England and Wales. Last year, though, Oliver overtook Jack to take the top spot. There’s a more interesting story, though, in the statistics: over 7,000 newborn boys in Britain were given one of 12 variations of the name Mohammed, such as Muhammad or Mohammad. Combined, these forms place it in the top …
Thirty-two years ago, Keith “Cowboy” Wiggins, who was a member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, was teasing a friend. The friend had just signed up to serve in the U.S. Army. Cowboy was mimicking the rhythm of marching soldiers by scat singing “hip hop hip hop.” He later used the phrase in a performance. Then the name began to be used by disco …
No letter in the English language gets around like X. The 24th letter of the alphabet shows up everywhere, from the popular Xbox to standing in for a signature on legal documents. It represents a chromosome, signifies the multiplication process, and marks “the spot” on treasure maps. Let’s explore just a few of the uses of this versatile letter.
As you may suspect, the term “ballroom dancing” originates with the word “ball.” But what you may not know is that “ball” comes from the Latin word ballare, which means “to dance.” So what about all those dances performed in the ballroom? How did they get their names? The waltz The waltz is now considered a harmless, traditional type of ballroom dancing. But in 1825, it …
Many parts of the U.S. are enjoying the peak of apple season right now. And lucky for logophiles, the names of some of the most popular varieties are almost as interesting as the fruit is tasty. There are more than 7, 500 cultivars of apples. Here are the stories behind five of the most popular: • It’s understandable if you guess that the Golden Delicious was named for the …
The common cholesterol drug Lipitor was recently subject to a recall due to reports from consumers about a “musty” odor associated with the bottles. We aren’t interested in the drug — this post concerns stink, stench, aroma. Smell may be the hardest sense to describe in words, which is why we are eager to take a whiff. The sense of smell is known as olfaction …
These days, giving birth to twins is increasingly common. As many as 5 out of every 1,000 babies born shared a womb with their sibling. While cute and adorable are some starter words to use when welcoming new babies, here’s a look at the lexicon to haul out when welcoming multiples! Fraternal twins vs. identical twins Fraternal twins are twins who derive from separately fertilized …