Despite the fact that Passover comes around every spring, you may still have some questions about the holiday. Why does Passover come about at a different time every year, for example, and why is the Passover meal so specific? The key to understanding what the religious observance is all about is understanding where the name Passover originally comes from. What is Passover? Passover is the …
Take a minute to think back to the beginning of the pandemic. Do you remember the Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020 that signaled the end of the Before Times? It has been one heck of a long year and a lot has changed since then, including our bathrooms. Fearing the unthinkable, a number of people installed bidets in their bathrooms to avoid a disaster. …
Recently, we added the word supposably to our dictionary. And, what do you suppose happened? For one thing, we discovered how strongly people feel about this word—which many assume to be a recently invented term or a mispronunciation. Others quite reasonably think it’s a synonym of supposedly. After all, even Joey from Friends famously and hilariously couldn’t figure out if supposedly and supposably were different words. …
By Ashley Austrew If you’re a fan of poetry, you know how even the simplest of poems can be moving, challenging, and inspiring. It’s for these reasons that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared March 21 World Poetry Day in 1999, and it’s a holiday we’ve been celebrating since. For some, poetry is the language of love, beauty, and passion. But …
So, about that season formerly-known-as lent … Originally, spring was known as lent, or the lenten season, which came from the Old English lengten, which means “to make longer or greater in length.” It is no surprise that the season was originally named after the fact that the days were getting longer. After all, back then natural sunlight and candlelight would have been the only light …
March 14 is a day to think about a specific number: pi. Pi has the same first three digits as the date 3/14—at least when written in the American style, with the month before the day. It’s also a day that people like to indulge in pie, a homophone with a completely different meaning. Pi goes on for much longer than 3.14, of course. And …
by Heather Bonikowski, Lexicographer, and John Kelly, Managing Editor Our first major update to Dictionary.com in 2021 looks a lot like … 2020. But that makes a lot of sense. From the pandemic to protests to politics, our language is still catching up to the tremendous change we experienced last year—and Dictionary.com is here to document it all. Our tireless team of lexicographers have touched …
Let’s say you’re in a thorny situation, and you find yourself wanting to offer comfort. Do you have a word or two in your back pocket for this moment? Do you assure your friend it will be alright? Or do you ensure them they’ll feel better soon? … Or is the word you’re looking for insure? Confused? This is a tricky one. Assure, ensure, and insure ultimately derive …
by John Dempsey, Writer and Editing Professional Today is National Grammar Day so it’s (not “its”) time to celebrate! Now, many of us may have bad memories of teachers correcting us on “Can I use the bathroom?” and similar common phrases all in the name of grammar. (I don’t know, can you? 🙄) So you may be surprised to learn what those of us who style ourselves …
What do hunting and sexual desires have in common? We could point to several things, but from a linguistic point of view, we’re referring to the archaic word venery, which means both hunting (from the Latin venor) and sexual desire (from Latin veneria, referring to Venus). Strangely, terms of venery is a collective noun that means a group of animals. And, many of these animal …
Do you know all the words to “The Star-Spangled Banner”? Many people have difficulty memorizing the lyrics of the first verse of the US anthem, which is commonly performed at sports events and other public gatherings. But did you know that there are three additional verses that we almost never hear? As if one verse weren’t hard enough to learn … Why is the “Star-Spangled …
Countries around the world are doing what they can to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to as many people as possible. As we wait and hope the vaccine will finally free us from the virus’s clutches, the words are flying fast and furious; everyone from Dr. Fauci on down is suddenly concerned with terms like vaccine efficacy and vaccine effectiveness. And who can blame us for …