Few things travel across borders as easily as food recipes and ingredients. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that there are so many foods named from where they originally come from. Sometimes the name comes from a specific ingredient like a fruit or vegetable that’s grown in a place, like Sichuan peppers or Fuji apples, while other times the name comes from a …
They are Leos, hear them roar. People born under this most majestic zodiac sign arrive into this world between July 23–August 22, and once they do, they’re ready to take it head on. The Leo sign comes after Cancer in the calendar and before Virgo. Represented by a lion, the term Leo stems from the Latin word for “lion,” which is spelled the same: leo. Leo …
The difference between a metaphor and a simile is like the difference between precious metals and gems (both are valuable and useful, but one can take many more forms). Understanding this difference—and knowing how to use both—can be a jewel in the crown of your writing, making your descriptions and comparisons more colorful and engaging. See what we did here? That first sentence uses a simile, …
by Heather Bonikowski, Lexicographer, and John Kelly, Managing Editor The latest update to Dictionary.com mirrors, as ever, the world around us. It reflects the evolving landscape—and language—of COVID-19, racial reckoning, social struggles, and the unstoppable charge of technological change. But it also reveals our boundless creativity and ingenuity. Slang and pop culture have yielded a host of terms and expressions in this update—and some welcome …
by Rory Gory Many people are raised to believe that gender and sex are the same thing, and that there are two options available to us: male or female. But neither sex nor gender is inherently binary—the belief that people must be classified into one of these two categories. When something can’t be placed in two boxes, we call it nonbinary, meaning “not consisting of, …
Concave and convex are literal opposites—one involves shapes that curve inward and the other involves shapes that curve outward. The terms can be used generally, but they’re often used in technical, scientific, and geometric contexts. Lenses, such as those used in eyeglasses, magnifying glasses, binoculars, and cameras are often described as concave or convex, depending on which way they curve. In geometry, both words can …
Good news—choose and chose are pretty easy to keep separate. Unlike the distinction between loose and lose, which are two completely different words, choose and chose are two different forms of the same verb (whose present tense form means “to select”). In this article, you’ll learn when to use choose, chose, and other forms like choosing and chosen. You’ll also learn why “choosed” is not used …
Not many side dishes can claim to be staples the world over. Of those, few are as beloved as French fries. Frites, chips, salchipapas—the list of names for fries is long, but regardless of the moniker, variations on fried pieces of potato can be found on restaurant menus on just about every continent. Summer is as good a time as any to learn a little …
Slowly but surely, travel is opening back up, and a lot of us are antsy to get on the road or hop on a plane. Before we do, though, we can take a minute to consider the names of all of the places we might want to visit and—a crucial question, for us at least—whether or not we even know how to pronounce them. After …
Has someone ever asked for your objective opinion? Or said that something is “entirely subjective”? The words subjective and objective are used in all kinds of contexts, from journalism to science to grammar, and they’re often discussed as opposites. But what do they actually mean? In most cases, it comes down to whether something is based on personal experience or on verifiable facts. But it …
World Chocolate Day is something that pretty much everyone with a sweet tooth can get behind. Chocolate is one of the most beloved treats, after all, whether it’s chocolate truffles, chocolate ice cream, chocolate-covered strawberries, or anything else chocolate. But how much do you actually know about this uber-popular sweet? Turns out there’s a lot more to the word chocolate itself (not to mention all …
The month of July, unlike June, is named for a mortal, albeit one who devised and ruled an empire. Julius Caesar was a Roman general, statesman, and historian who conquered Gaul (what is now part of Italy, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands), changed the structure of the Roman government into a dictatorship, was assassinated in legendary fashion, and most importantly for our purposes, helped make the calendar what it is today. …