Search Results for: euphemism

  1. Lexical Investigations: Hypochondriac

    Hypochondriac Hypochondriac comes ultimately from the Greek word hypokhondria, which literally means “under the cartilage (of the breastbone).” In the late 16th century, when hypochondriac first entered the English language, it referred to the upper abdomen. The upper abdomen, it turns out, was thought to be the seat of melancholy at a time when the now-outdated medical theory of the four humors (blood, phlegm, yellow …

  2. Pardon And Other Trending Words On Dictionary.com

    From the president’s Twitter account to a horse with an unusual name, searches for the meaning of words took folks into some unusual areas of Dictionary.com the week of June 1–June 8, 2018. Pardon President Donald Trump’s assertion that he can pardon himself didn’t just have the Twitterverse talking. It also sent searches for the meaning of pardon up 328% this week. We can’t say …

  3. Nephanalysis, Sitar, Wombat, And Other Words That Trended On Dictionary.com This Week

    What do spivvy, smuggery, stingo, and schlemiel have in common? Sure, they begin with the letter S. But what’s more, they are also some of the leading lookups on Dictionary.com since July 8. Since our introduction of it in our last trending writeup, our ticker has been tirelessly scrolling across our homepage.  And, we’ve continued to watch. So, let’s get started with our top five …

  4. Last Month in Pop Language: Post Malone, Bill Clinton, and Other June Low Points

    by Molly Rosen MarrinerThis is our fourth installment of Last Month in Pop Language, a column where the most popular (statistically) song, book, and film of the month will have their words analyzed in hopes of drawing a conclusion about language’s current usage—and future. At the end of each monthly column, we’ll draw a conclusion: Was last month’s pop language masterly, malevolent, or merely meh?————- Movie: The Incredibles 2 …

  5. A dark blue background with an upside-down image of a man wearing virtual reality goggles. Imposed on the background is a list of words in white outline: UAP, parklet, memeify, new words [in bold white letters], metaverse, throuple, wabi-sabi

    From “Generation A” To “Zeitgeisty”: Over 200 New Words And Definitions Added To Dictionary.com

    by Nick Norlen, Research Editor, and Heather Bonikowski, Lexicographer The latest update to Dictionary.com reflects our mission to help make sense of the world through words. Of the hundreds of newly added terms, some define our times, notably those related to the ongoing COVID pandemic and climate emergency. Other updates cover important changes in how we talk about a vast range of topics, including disability, …

  6. Why Do We Use Symbols To Censor Swearwords?

    When the force of a swearword is too extreme (but some form of cuss must be used) symbolic stand-ins have long been used for lewdness. Suffice it to say, any emotional keyboard-striker can blurt out something that people perceive as a sub for swears. Whether it’s to diminish the force of swear, to get around censorship rules, or maybe just because symbols are @#$%ing cool to look at, …

  7. stork carrying a baby bundle, on a green background.

    Words To Use To Explain Sex To Your Kids

    Salt-N-Pepa would approve of this list. But even if their song is stuck in your head (you know you’re singing “Let’s talk about sex!” now) actually talking about sex is anything but easy. It’s overwhelming to have “the talk” with your kids, which is why experts suggest having an ongoing conversation on the topics of sex, consent, and reproduction as they grow instead of having …

  8. assorted scrabble tiles, in blue filter.

    How To Spell W And Other Letters Of The Alphabet

    No doubt you know your ABCs, but do you know how to spell the names of the letters themselves? For example, how would you spell the name of the letter W? In this article, we are going to take a look at how to spell out the different consonants of the alphabet. Why just the consonants? Well, spelling the names of the vowels is unusual, …

  9. List of words in outlined font, with central word in bold white font, on lilac background: “Janus word, buzzword, cussword, counterword [in bold], weasel word, nonce word, codeword"

    Wow Yourself With 17 Words With “Word” In Them

    We love all kinds of words: big words, small words, words with silent vowels, and even the word moist. With that in mind, we wanted to find words that feature the word word in them. Without getting too wordy, we managed to find words like foreword, afterword, and doubleword that fit our criterion of being a word with the word word in the word. Being …

  10. Incumbent, Misogynistic and Other Trending Words On Dictionary.com

    The midterm elections weren’t just sending folks to the polls. Plenty of you landed on Dictionary.com the week of November 2–9, 2018 looking for answers. So what did we learn? Let’s review this week in words! Incumbent, House of Representatives, and gubernatorial The midterm elections dominated headlines this week, so it’s no surprise that more than a few election-related words showed up in our trending …

  11. Decoding The PR Machine

    Deciphering the language of hype Language can be used to avoid discussion just as much as it can be used to communicate effectively. For example: the language of public relations. Public-relations representatives often speak for corporate America, politicians, and the media. They know how to avoid topics and how to not answer the hard questions (tweaking language to fit a particular need at a particular …

  12. The Surprising Origin Of The Word “Bigot”

    A bigot is “a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion.” OK, but where does this strong and negative word originate? Here’s the interesting part. Some etymologists believe the Old French version of bigot, which means “sanctimonious,” was used by the French to mock the Normans, a people who lived in France and invaded Britain in 1066. Allegedly, the Normans …